Who Is Liable For Gas Can Injuries?

Outdoor recreation in South Carolina is so much fun that South Carolinians will not let a little bit of cold weather force us to stay indoors.  What could be better than spending a winter’s evening gathered around a campfire, singing songs and roasting marshmallows, or barbecuing over the fire pit in your backyard?  As much fun as these activities are, anything that involves fire brings an element of danger.  Just as Fourth of July fireworks can cause injury if they malfunction or if people use them in unsafe ways, the same can happen with gas cans used in backyard fires.  If you have been injured in an accident involving a gas can, contact a South Carolina gas can injury lawyer.

What Can Go Wrong With a Gas Can?

As anyone who has ever gone on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts knows that, even in dry conditions, it is difficult to start a big fire using only firewood and matches.  For a fire that is big enough for barbecuing, or even for keeping you warm, it is much easier to use a gas can.  Blitz, Midwest, Scepter, and The Plastics Group are popular brands of gas cans sold in South Carolina, and you can buy them at outdoor goods stores and big box retailers throughout the state.

When things go well, gas from a gas can will give you a robust bonfire or fire pit barbecue.  The cans are designed to make it easy to start a fire in the desired location without the flames getting dangerously close to nearby people.  When gas cans malfunction, however, serious injuries can result.  The South Carolina courts have heard lawsuits from people who got injured when gas cans exploded or when a can sprayed gasoline instead of pouring correctly.

Determining Liability in Gas Can Injury Cases

Personal injury laws enable people injured in preventable accidents, including those involving gas cans, to sue the parties responsible for causing the accident or failing to prevent it.  If your injuries resulted from a gas can malfunction, you may be able to sue the manufacturer of the gas can for product liability.  You may also have a claim against the retail store that sold you the gas can.  In the case Hazel v. Blitz, U.S.A., the court ruled that the family of a child injured by gas can spray may sue Blitz, the company that manufactured the gas can, as well as Fred’s, the retail store chain that sold the defective can.  If the accident occurred when you were a guest at someone’s house, regardless of whether the owner was the one who handled the malfunctioning gas can, you may be able to sue the homeowner under premises liability laws.

Let Us Help You Today

The car accident lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you were injured as a result of a gas can exploding or spraying.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/2021/28016.html