Reports of serious burn injuries have resulted in the recall of more than a million Tassimo coffee makers in St. Louis and across the U.S. and Canada. In today’s announcement of the product recall, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has received more than 140 personal injury reports of people being sprayed with hot liquid, tea leaves or coffee grounds while using the popular single-cup coffee makers. Serious second-degree burns resulted in 37 of the reported personal injury incidents. Among the most serious burn injuries reported were those suffered by a 10-year-old Minnesota girl who had to be hospitalized with second-degree burns to her face and neck.

The second product recall notice was issued for 4 million plastic T-disks used with the Tassimo coffee maker. Disks can become clogged and burst during the brewing process, splattering consumers with hot grounds and water. A splattered 2-year-old Canadian girl suffered second-degree facial burns when one T-disk failed.

Defective products cause more than 29.4 million injuries each year. Burn injuries are among the most painful and costly injuries to treat. When burn injuries occur to the face, painful skin grafts and extensive plastic surgery may be required to repair the damage. If you own a Tassimo coffee maker, St. Louis personal injury attorneys recommend that you stop using it immediately. If you or someone in your household has suffered an injury caused by a Tassimo coffee maker, contact the St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Hoffman & Gelfman.

A possible burn hazard has prompted the recall of 19,000 Honeywell Surround Select Portable Electric Heaters. The voluntary space heater recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in conjunction with the product’s distributor, Kaz USA  Inc. of Southborough, Massachusetts. The portable heaters are manufactured in China. According to the recall notice, a manufacturing defect can cause the heater’s fan or heating element to detach and burn consumers.

The defective Honeywell heaters were sold at Walmart, Meijer and Best Buy stores through December 2011. If you purchased one of these heaters, you should unplug and stop using it immediately. Consumers can contact Kaz for a full refund. While no serious burn injuries connected to the use of the Honeywell heater have been reported to date, portable space heaters are the leading cause of home fires and are responsible for 79% of all fire-related deaths, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Portable electric heaters also pose a risk of electric shock and electrocution.

In 1981, a space-heater fire killed 11 children East St. Louis. Earlier this month, 8 children barely escaped when a fire started by a space heater destroyed their north St. Louis County home. In 2009, space heaters were responsible for 58,900 home fires that killed 480 people and injured another 1,520, according to a 2011 National Fire Protection Association report.

If you have been injured by a space heater or space-heater caused fire, contact the Missouri product injury attorney at Hoffman & Gelfman.