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 ...
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.
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