Defective bath mat leads to lawsuit

AquaRugBuy Photo

Diane Williams, who slipped on a bathmat marketed as "non-slip" about a month after getting a hip replacement surgery, poses for a portrait Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, at her home Sioux Falls.(Photo: Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)Buy Photo

A Sioux Falls woman who slipped on a now-recalled bath mat marketed as slip-proof has sued the company that made it and the company that sold it.

Diane Williams had a hip replacement about a month before she fell in the shower due to a slip on her “AquaRug.”

Williams bought the rug one year ago after seeing it advertised on the home shopping network QVC. The fall came within months, resulting in a broken right leg, a surgical revision of her hip replacement, four weeks of assisted living care and physical therapy.

By the time she’d ordered the Aqua Rug, manufacturer Tristar Products, Inc. had been sued in federal court over allegations the non-slip bath rug was prone to slippage.

“I purchased the AquaRug because I wanted to be careful after my hip surgery," Williams said. "The ads on television said it was a safer bathmat for the elderly.  I don’t believe those ads were true and now I don’t want anyone else hurt by this product.”

Williams reached out to Sioux Falls lawyer Bryan Radke. Late last month, Radke, Brendan Johnson and Philip Sieff filed a lawsuit on her behalf in U.S. District Court in South Dakota, alleging that both QVC and Tristar were aware of the dangers before Williams bought it.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for liability, negligence and breach of warranty. Another count alleges loss of consortium on behalf of Earl Williams, who was deprived of “the aid, services, counsel and consortium of his spouse.”

About 1.4 million of the rugs, those manufactured between July 2012 and September 2015, were recalled within days of the lawsuit’s filing. The products were widely available, not sold exclusively by QVC.

Williams’ lawsuit says the company should have been aware of the dangers before that. The complaint includes 40 online customer complaints saying that the suction cups didn’t stick, that the rugs didn’t stay in place or that they posed a danger of falls.

"This product was marketed towards some of the most vulnerable people in our community, the elderly and those with physical impairments, who are most prone to serious injury from a fall," Johnson said. "We brought this lawsuit in an effort to help protect those members of our community.”

QVC spokeswoman Diane Zappas sent a response via email about Williams' lawsuit, noting that the AquaRugs were recalled and that customers can get a free replacement of their 4-suction-cup rugs by following instructions at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Tristar-Products-Recalls-AquaRug-Shower-Rugs/http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Tristar-Products-Recalls-AquaRug-Shower-Rugs/

Zappas could not comment specifically on the pending litigation, but wrote "QVC is committed to providing our customers with high-quality products."

Tristar Products did not return requests for comment.

John Hult is the Reader's Watchdog reporter for Argus Leader Media. Contact him with questions and concerns at 605-331-2301, 605-370-8617. You can tweet him @ArgusJHult or find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ArgusReadersWatchdog

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