Product Liability - Dangers of Metal Water Bottles & Injuries to Children

A Jan. 9, 2012 NBC report warns consumers about popular metal water bottles that could cause children to get their tongues stuck inside. The report states that several children had to undergo complicated surgery in order to free their tongues.

Popular metal water bottles that are commonly used by many children are posing a serious hazard, causing several children to undergo complicated and dangerous tongue surgery, NBC reports. According to the Jan. 9 news article, more and more children are getting their tongues stuck inside these metal water bottles and one company that manufactures the bottles has stopped selling them.

The report points to the case of 6-year-old Mary Kate Person, who got her tongue trapped inside a metal bottle as she put her tongue in to get the last drops. Doctors had to cut off the bottom of the bottle, but feared that the part of the bottle that was stuck to her tongue could block her airway and cause her to suffocate or that she would lose her tongue, the report said. Eventually, she had to undergo three hours of surgery to free her tongue and spent three days in intensive care as she recovered.

According to the report, doctors believe this happens because of the way these bottles are designed and that the narrow neck and strong brass ridges on the bottle act like a noose, trapping the tongue. An 8-year-old girl in Georgia and a 9-year-old boy in North Carolina also underwent similar procedures after getting their respective tongues trapped, the article stated.

Doctors suggest that children who drink out of metal bottles should get a sippy cap that screws on to the bottle, which could prevent such incidents from occurring, the report states. It is important that the companies that make these dangerous metal water bottles issue a prompt recall and warn consumers about the hazards presented by these products, said John Bisnar, founder of the Bisnar Chase personal injury law firm.

"There are number of these water bottles out on store shelves and millions of children are likely using them. It is the responsibility of these manufacturers to ensure that dangerous products are taken off the market and consumers are warned."

Bisnar questioned the delay in recalling these metal water bottles.

"If manufacturers have already stopped making them because they are so dangerous, why are they not being recalled? Every day a recall is delayed, numerous children are being put in harm's way."

The California defective product lawyers of Bisnar Chase represent individuals who have been injured as the result of defective products and other acts of negligence. The law firm has won a wide variety of challenging personal injury and wrongful death cases involving car accidents, work-related injuries, negligence and defective products. For more information, please call 949-203-3814.