The Ohio family of a young boy who suffered severe burns while riding a Peg Perego toy tractor is seeking damages for ongoing and long-term medical care of their toddler.
Columbus, Ohio (January 23, 2013) – A federal lawsuit maintains toy maker Peg Perego U.S.A of Fort Wayne, Ind., failed to properly manufacture and ensure the safety of a toy tractor that spontaneously combusted, engulfing a toddler in flames that caused second- and third-degree burns over more than half his body.
The civil action filed today in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, seeks unspecified monetary damages for the long-term medical care of Wyatt Buckley, who was nearly 3 years old when the life-altering tragedy occurred on June 2, 2012, in the backyard of his Albany, Ohio, home. Young Wyatt, whose parents are Marlon and Heather Buckley, now faces an uncertain future of medical treatments and painful surgeries.
“This courageous young boy and his family face an unsettling future of medical treatments and surgeries, mounting medical expenses and an uncertain prognosis,” said Andrew List, an attorney with Clark, Perdue & List Co, LPA, a recognized leader in mass torts litigation whose specialties include defective products, explosions and fires.
Young Wyatt was riding the Peg Perego toy tractor as his father and 5-year-old brother watched. Suddenly, the tractor burst into flames. The father rushed to the burning tractor, threw his son to the ground, and rolled him in a blanket until the flames were extinguished. Wyatt was rushed by helicopter to Columbus, Ohio, where he spent two months in Nationwide Children’s Hospital undergoing multiple surgeries and rehabilitation. The family is grateful to Nationwide Children’s for the wonderful care he received.
Specifically, the suit maintains that Peg Perego disregarded safety by engaging in:
- Defective manufacture or construction, as the tractor deviated from design specifications, formula or performance standards.
- Defective design or formulation, as the foreseeable risks associated with the design and formulation of the tractor exceeded the benefits.
- Inadequate warning or instructions, as the company should have known about the fire risk and failed to provide warning.
- Nonconformance with manufacturer’s representations, as the tractor did not conform to Peg Perego’s representations that it was safe for use by young children.
CNN – January 23, 2013
https://youtu.be/TdBPeVmNSOI?t=8s
Fox News – January 24, 2013
https://youtu.be/yOu3bt1d1Vg?t=5s
WBNS-TV10 – January 24, 2013
https://youtu.be/QWSG8e1vZSQ?t=5s
WBNS-TV10 – December 2012
https://youtu.be/4SyEtM-bUXg?t=5s
Print Media
- The Athens News – January 23, 2013
- The Columbus Dispatch – January 25, 2013
- The Athens News – March 28, 2013, reporting that Peg Perego denies liability in response to Federal lawsuit.
About Clark, Perdue & List Co, LPA
Since 1986, Clark, Perdue & List Co, LPA has grown from a Columbus, Ohio-based personal injury law firm into a recognized regional and national leader in mass torts litigation. Additionally, the firm represents persons injured as a result of defective products, explosions, fires, defective premises, medical negligence, and defective pharmaceuticals and medical devices. For more information, visit https://www.clarkperdue.com.