Family members of an alleged alcoholic who died after consuming hand sanitizer have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
4e Brands Northamerica was sued at federal court in St. Louis after Kayla Stagner’s autopsy revealed that her cause of death was allegedly acute methanol poisoning, according to media reports.
“If she would have suffered damages as a result of putting it on her hands because it contains methyl alcohol, and if methyl alcohol causes damage for the intended use of the product then I think that's on the manufacturer, but put to a reasonably anticipated use means the plaintiff will have to overcome whether misuse is reasonably anticipated,” Chesterfield attorney Ronald J. Eisenberg opined.
Although the plaintiff is an Illinois resident, the Feb. 5 complaint claims she purchased the hand sanitizer in St. Louis County at Sam’s Club, and her daughter, Kayla Stagner, died from ingesting it in Maplewood, Mo.
“Testing done in connection with the autopsy on the hand sanitizer remaining in the bottle showed it contained deadly levels of methanol, a solvent, and ingredient in antifreeze, which if ingested in sufficient amounts is deadly to most adults,” attorney Mary Coffey wrote in the lawsuit on behalf of Kayla Stagner's mother Debra Stagner. “Methanol was not listed on the Blumen Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Clear label.”
Coffey declined to comment.
Although St. Louis courts are known to be plaintiff-friendly, Eisenberg has doubts on whether the deceased mother's claims will survive a summary judgment motion.
“It will depend on whether reasonable anticipation is a question of law or a question of fact,” Eisenberg told the St. Louis Record. “If it’s a questionary determination of fact and the plaintiffs have some evidence then perhaps they will get past summary judgment.”
The plaintiff argues in her complaint that there is a decades-long history of adolescents and adults drinking hand sanitizer containing ethyl alcohol as a substitute for liquor without it killing them and that there are instructional videos on YouTube on how to get drunk on hand sanitizer.
“If this lawsuit results in a large verdict for the plaintiff, then other hand sanitizer companies will probably put labels on bottles of hand sanitizer that say ‘don't drink hand sanitizer because it could kill you,’” Eisenberg said.
In addition to wrongful death, Coffey lists violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act among the plaintiff’s causes of action.
“The defendant may seek to strike the request for punitive damages,” Eisenberg said. “The Merchandising Practices Act was weakened effective August 28, 2020, but it is still a cause of action that if the plaintiffs prevail can get them reasonable attorney's fees.”
One obstacle that Eisenberg foresees is the fact that the lawsuit was filed in federal instead of state court.
“In federal court, judges are more likely to grant summary judgment so that you never get to a trial,” he said.