Dr. Kenneth Gegerson is suing several companies for Florida products liability and wrongful death. Gegerson’s wife, Dr. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, died in a choking accident after the leather necklace she was wearing got caught in a ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu neck massager. The jewelry became entangled in the device’s rotating piece.
In his Miami-Dade, Florida wrongful death complaint, Gegerson blames the providers of the device for failing to put in a mechanism that would have made the ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu stop immediately when the rotating knobs experienced resistance. He also claims that the “defective” product lacked the “obvious and adequate” labeling needed to warn that items could get caught in the massager.
Defendants of the South Florida products liability lawsuit are distributor King International, King Yiu Chan and Si Ming Dui (the creators and patent holders), franchise Relax the Back Corp., and ABP Aventura Inc, which ran the Relax the Back store in Aventura.
Now, several months after Ferrari-Gegerson’s death, the US Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert warning consumers to throw the massager away. The FDA says that another consumer was almost strangled and there have also been at least two reports of hair and clothing getting caught in the product. King International, which has distributed about 12,000 ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu massagers, says it is now recalling the devices.
Unfortunately, there are products that pose a choking and suffocation hazard to consumers. It is the job of manufacturers, distributors, and sellers to make sure that such hazards are remedied and any remaining risks are cautioned of in a warning. Products should also come with proper operating instructions.
FDA urges consumers to stop using massager, WSVN, August 31, 2011
King International’s Shoulderflex Massager Recalled by FDA, Consumer Justice Foundation
Related Web Resource:
FDA
Husband of Parkland woman killed by neck massager sues, Sun-Sentinel, September 2, 2011
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