A family moved into an apartment that contained a free standing oven with a stove cook top. When they moved into the apartment the oven was filthy. The super of the building refused to clean the oven. An 11 year old girl decided to help her mother by cleaning the inside of the oven. Her life changed that day forever.
She opened the door of the oven and wiped down the door. She then reached into the oven to clean the inside of the oven. While reaching in she leaned on the door causing the oven to tip over. Her mother, meanwhile had been boiling chicken on the stove top. When the oven tipped, the pot of boiling water fell. The 11 year old girl suffered third degree burns on approximately 20% of her body. She was frightened and in a great deal of pain.
At first glance one might say why would the landlord be responsible for this tragic accident? Through good fortune the family retained Kramer & Pollack, LLP. We immediately set out to investigate the circumstances of this tragedy. We learned that the super of the building installed the oven. The oven, when shipped contained an anti-tip device along with instructions for proper installation. The anti tip device is essentially a small L bracket that gets mounted to the bottom of the wall and when you slide the oven into place the oven will not tip. With the bracket in place the door of the oven could support 250 lbs. The 11 year old weighed about 65 pounds. If the anti tip device were installed properly this accident would never have happened. The cost of the anti tip device about $3.79.
If you would like to read the heroic struggle and inspiring outcome as written by the now grown 11 year old just click on: Dashanda’s Story