$35M STOVE TIPOVER SETTLEMENT

An apartment stove tipped over when a five-year-old boy stood on its open-door while trying to reach a pot.

The pot of scalding water toppled off the stove, spilled onto the boy, and severely burned his groin and upper thighs. The landlord had ignored Philadelphia’s building code, which requires every apartment stove to be anchored to the floor at the back of the stove. The stove manufacturer violated the standards for the home appliance industry when it failed to provide essential safety information. Martin K. Brigham’s role as lead trial counsel for the boy in his claim against the landlord and the stove manufacturer was featured as a Spotlight case in ATLA’s Law Reporter.