Lasko Products, the largest manufacturer of fans in the U.S., was ordered to pay $13.5 million to the family of a 7-year-old Germantown, Pennsylvania boy who was killed in a 2005 blaze ignited by a faulty fan motor.
According to the family’s attorney, Lasko knew of a defect with the motors of their portable fans in 1999, but failed to alert consumers or the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the problem. Consequently, Joshua Foster died on June 14, 2005, when the fan in his mother’s bedroom caught fire. He was trapped inside the bedroom and suffered thermal burns and smoke inhalation.
After a 13-day trial, jurors awarded Joshua’s mother and $4 million and his sister $2 million for emotional distress, $10,000 for funeral expenses, and $7.5 million to the boy’s estate.
