Defective products are always both a disappointment and a potential health risk for the people that buy them. Cars, for example, can cause injury, and even death if they don’t work the way they’re supposed to due to a manufacturing defect. The same is true for less complex recreational items. The infamous Easy Bake Oven incident, for example, trapped the hands of little girls in the oven itself, while it was on, causing burn injuries.
Now, for some video game fans, a very expensive collectible poses a significant health hazard, and a product recall has been issued for those gaming fans that have spent a considerable amount of money for this memorabilia.
The Collectible Space
The Fallout video game is famous among gaming fans for its large, open world, and post-apocalyptic setting of the USA devastated by nuclear war, and how survivors cope with the environment centuries afterward. For more popular video games, it’s not unusual for businesses to appeal to fans by creating new memorabilia or collectibles. Similar to posters, action figures and other items for favorite television programs and movies, the same is now happening for video games.
Unfortunately, for fans of the video game Fallout, there is now a very expensive collectible, created by a company called Chronicle, that has now been put on recall by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. The item, in this case, is a 1:1, that is to say, a life-size, replica of a famous piece of powered battle armor in the game, the helmet of the T-51b.
The Health Risk
In the case of this item, the life-size helmet can be worn, if desired, with softer cloth elements built into the interior for a more comfortable experience.
However, the helmet has now been put on recall because it was discovered that during the manufacturing process, the cloth lining the helmet was not properly stored or treated. The result is that there is a high chance of mold contained in the helmet itself. Should a person put on the helmet, with mold present, there is a strong chance they may inhale mold spores.
For healthy individuals, the effects might not be more than noticing an unpleasant, musty smell while breathing with the helmet on. However, for anyone with a respiratory condition, or a compromised immune system, breathing in spores in such proximity to the mold itself could have an adverse reaction. Someone with asthma, for example, could experience breathing issues immediately upon wearing the helmet. The product recall affects approximately 20000 products. If you had purchased this helmet, take the time to heed the recall and return it for health and safety reasons.
For anyone that has already experienced some injury as a result of a defective product, your next step should be to talk to an experienced defective product attorney. If a product has a built-in defect that has resulted in an injury for you, or someone you know, the company that created that defective product is responsible for the outcome and recovery of your injury. An experienced attorney can help you take the next steps to make things right.