Curtis International Recalls Frigidaire Minifridges After Causing More Than $700,000 In Property Damage

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced the recall of Frigidaire Minifridges after the fridges caused a reported $700,000 in property damage. According to the recall, the minifridges’ internal electrical components can short-circuit and ignite the plastic housing, posing a burn hazard. The CPSC is advising consumers to immediately stop using the recalled minifridges and follow the instructions to receive a refund at www.recallrtr/minifridge. Consumers should unplug and cut the power cord, writing “Recall” using a permanent marker on the front door of the fridge.

At present, Curtis International has received at least 26 reports of the minifridges smoking, sparking, burning, melting, overheating, and catching fire. According to the CPSC, the minifridges have caused over $700,000 in property damage. Two consumers also reported smoke inhalation injuries.

The minifridges were sold at Walmart and Amazon.com.

Lawsuits against refrigerator manufacturers 

There have been several lawsuits filed against refrigerator manufacturers that allege product liability and include injuries to consumers.

• GE appliances (recalled French-door models) – GE Appliances recalled 155,000 GE-brand Free-Standing French Door Refrigerators due to a fall hazard. According to the recall, the freezer door could detach after being opened, resulting in 37 reported injuries, including three falls.

• Frigidaire (side-by-side models) – 383,000 Frigidaire refrigerators were recalled in February 2024, due to a plastic component in the ice bucket assembly that could break off. This caused at least two individuals to suffer lacerations and ingestion injuries. Consumers were advised to stop using the ice makers and register for a free replacement ice bucket.

• Whirlpool (Maytag and KitchenAid three-door models) – This lawsuit focused primarily on defective cooling issues caused by frost clogs, which could potentially lead to food spoiling. Some of the defects, however, can pose indirect injury risks, such as slip and fall hazards, which could lead to injury.

Product liability and defective refrigerators 

Product liability lawsuits can be filed under one of three theories of liability:

• Defective design – A defective design lawsuit would allege that the product is intrinsically defective, and this led to an injury or property damage.

• Manufacturing defect – A manufacturing defect lawsuit would allege that the product was rendered dangerous due to some form of manufacturing defect.

• Failure to warn – If a product is potentially dangerous, then it needs to have some warning for consumers so that they understand the potential danger. A failure to warn lawsuit would allege that the company was negligent for failing to warn consumers about a known danger.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

Have you been injured by a defective product? Call the Florida personal injury lawyers at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to schedule an appointment and learn more about how we can help.