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A three-judge federal appeals panel upheld a $2.8 million jury award in a faulty fire alarm case involving the deaths of a father and daughter.
William Hackert Jr., a 56-year-old employee at General Electric’s Corporate Research and Development Center, and his 31-year-old daughter, Christine, died in their home on May 31, 2001 after becoming trapped in a fire caused by a frayed electrical cord.
Defective Design
A BRK Brands ionization smoke alarm failed to alert Hackert and his daughter to the fire. Attorney for the family argued that the company knew that its ionization detectors sometimes failed to go off during fires.
In 2006, a jury found that the ionization alarm had a defective design and awarded widow Sheila Hackert and her son $2.8 million in damages. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the jury’s finding.
(Source: Albany Times Union)
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