Posted on 07/31/2012 10:45:16 AM PDT by AdamBomb
MIAMI, Okla. - Product liability lawsuits have extinguished an Ottawa County gasoline can manufacturer, says Rocky Flick, owner and chief operating officer of Blitz U.S.A.
Blitz U.S.A./F3 Brands in Miami filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Nov. 9. On Monday, the company said it will close its doors July 31 and lay off 117 people.
[snip]
The lawsuits that doomed Blitz mostly centered on individuals pouring gasoline out of a can onto an open fire, with the vapors igniting and causing injuries.
Three warnings about not mixing gasoline and fire, in addition to other safety precautions, are displayed predominately on the red plastic cans.
[snip]
The company went to trial in two cases, winning one lawsuit and losing the other, a $4 million verdict involving the death of a 4-year-old girl.
The jury found Blitz 70 percent liable, Flick said.
The child was living in a camper in Utah when her father poured gasoline into a wood stove, which ignited, he said.
[snip]
Blitz has about 70 percent of the market selling gas cans, Flick said.
(Excerpt) Read more at tulsaworld.com ...
What kind of foolish idiot pours gasoline on a fire?
Now I know why.
Eric Holder's people.
There is always a greater idiot out there that you simply cannot design a product around.
Of course I’m sorry for the innocents that get hurt due to a moron adult BUT there comes a point where stupid people become a danger to society and we should let their own actions doom them. Yup - heartless, I know. And frankly, I’d like to see the fool with the gas can hug his lawyer and enjoy a good cigar together.
I had to buy a new gas can a while back. It had the government approves safety spout that leaks gas, makes a mess, doesn’t work and is obviously prone to starting fires when refilling hot equipment.
I know this, if I ever meet the SOB responsible for those three hand safety nozzles that are mandated for all new gas cans, I’m kicking them square in the cashews! I did however figure out how to hack them and turn them into a straight through nozzle.
Lowell Weicker, Winnie Mandela and David Bowie, for starters.
The father kills his daughter when blowing up his camper by pouring gas into a wood-burning stove and is only 30% responsible?
I should add that if something bad HAD happened, it would be unconscionable to blame the maker of the can.
—What kind of foolish idiot pours gasoline on a fire?—
Me. :-(
I wonder how much money I could get if I DRANK some of the gasoline.
I checked... there are no warnings not to drink the gas... Of course there are warnings about putting the gas on fire and the poor innocents still got money.
Maybe the user couldn't read or maybe it was in the wrong language.
or Oh maybe the warnings are just imprinted in the plastic so only good eye sight can read it.
But the poor victims of defective plastic cans probably knew that gasoline burns... oh!
Or maybe they thought gas extinguishes fires!
Geez... I wonder how much gas I could drink without killing myself?
A 5th?
—I know this, if I ever meet the SOB responsible for those three hand safety nozzles...—
I had a fit with mine untlil I realized how easy it was to break off all the safety feature tabs. Now it’s very easy to get the top unscrewed and easy to pour gas from it.
I just quite buying the plastic cans. The spouts are a ridiculous Rub Goldburg affair that dont work. The old plastic can w/ a simple spout was the last addition and its glacially slow. My newest is a metal can w/ a removable plastic spout/funnel which works really great and is fast!!. It was pricey BUT it works and gives a fast fill....and should last several life times. Hopefully it wont appear on anyones radar and get redesigned.
“What kind of foolish idiot pours gasoline on a fire?”
___
Liberals, DemocRATs, Members of the free s*it army and other assorted ignorant a$$holes.
Buy a few of these before it is too late...
Blitz didn’t build these cans.....somebody else did that.
Just drill yourself a little hole in the plastic and put a screw in it.
we need a “dumb sh*t” rule rather than tort reform.
Gross stupidity akin to ironing clothes while wearing them or look over the edge of a wilderness cliff deserve all the consquences they recieve.
Good riddance. I have about 5 or 6 Blitz gas cans and every one of them leak. The only reason I have them is they are the only brand you can find. The lawsuit that sunk them sounds bogus, but no telling how many folks have had accidents with their leaky product and didn’t sue
I bought one of those plastic cans recently. This one was made in Canada, of all places.
That ridiculous spout mechanism broke after a few uses, and even when it worked it was difficult to control the flow of gas from it. And, yes, it leaked and made a mess.
I agree that the ventless thing was a very bad idea.
Anyone care to recommend a better gas can?
Let me get this straight. A few ambulance chasers and 3 town idiots manage to ruin the livelihoods of at least 117 people. And they call right wingers greedy and selfish.
Hahahaha!
I checked the name on the worthless can I bought.
It is Scepter, made in Canada.
Don’t buy one of these under any circumstances.
No, I keep a bunch of extra gas and diesel for the riding mowers, weed eater, chain saws and tractor, etc, etc.
I used to keep them in my workshop, but after seeing the problems, I bought a little prefab shed and now keep them well away (100 ft) from my house and workshop.
The swelling plastic and seepage on hot days is just to worrisome.
Some detail behind the child’s death:
“The girl, 4, was living in an unheated camper in Utah when her father poured gasoline into a woodstove, which ignited, Flick said. The child and her father caught on fire, the father ran out of the camper and left the child inside while he tried to put flames out that were on him”
He left his 4 year old daughter inside a burning camper?
I hope he dies a slow, agonizing death......
It can’t be any worse than a Blitz
I’m sure when we’re all forced to carry gasoline around in old Clorox jugs, we’ll all be a lot safer.
>> “ I did however figure out how to hack them and turn them into a straight through nozzle.” <<
.
But how do you seal the jug now?
The current models are not a standard thread size, and cannot bne fully closed without the stupid nozzle.
That's all you can find around here.
When ever I fuel up the tractor with diesel, I bring a roll of paper towels with me.
There is always a mess with a Blitz.
And it was 70% the gas can's fault, 25% the 'Big Oil' company, 15% the stove manufacturer and 12.75% the match maker.
Even if the can developed a leak and spilled into the stove, I still blame the Dad for keeping gas near an open flame.
No, probably not.
The Scepter is called an "Eco Can". That is liberalese for "worthless piece of ****", but I ignored the warning.
You have to understand that it’s not Blitz’s fault. The freakin EPA makes them adhere to their crap. I believe the “ventless” thing was the EPA’s idea. Also, read in the thread below the orginal story EPA makes these can companies send them 500+ cans for testing. If they don’t pass, they gotta send em another 500 cans.
This should go to appeal. Improper use of product should never be a liability to the maker.
Good for Blitz to go out of business and go Galt. Maybe those being laid off ought to go visit the idiots that sued them.
The sunshade I put in my windshield has a label that says, “Do not operate car with shade in place.”
The best bet is removing the pour spout and using an adequate funnel. The problem is in transporting the darned things in a vehicle. I finally have just tossed the spouts and use home made RTV gaskets on the cans for transport
LOL, when ever I make a run to the filling station, I always park my truck next to the water hose to wash out the bed when I get home.
Bed liners don't like diesel or gasoline.
Wouldn't even think about putting them in the trunk of my car.
Yep, you pretty much summed it up, those new spouts are horrible and have no seal. There’s no way to keep gas from leaking out of those things, whether you have the spout out or even if the thing is closed. If I was worried about safety, I’d try to find one of the old metal gas cans.
A foolish idiot, and believe me, there are lots of them out there.
Well, he is an idiot, to start with.
Ever see an idiot with a pocket full of money?
He probably won't last long once he cashes the check.
I bought one of these in the 2 gallon size about 20 years ago and is the best can I've ever owned for transporting fuel. They cost about $40 now.
Darn, I’ve got a Blitz can in the garage. Yes, the American public is too stupid to know enough not to pour gasoline on a fire. In their stupidity, they must be protected from evil makers of gas cans.
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