Alibaba sued for selling a 3D printer that overheated, caught fire, and killed a man
- Reference: 1654803007
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/06/09/alibaba_printer_death/
- Source link:
Hoi Kwong Yu and Janice Yu, parents of Calvin Yu, claim their son purchased "a defective Tronxy X5SA 24V 3D printer" from Alibaba's website AliExpress.com around 9 November 2019. Disaster struck six months later, on 11 June 2020.
The device was plugged into an electric power strip, and overheated causing a fire to erupt in Calvin's home, it was alleged in court documents filed to San Francisco's Superior Court [1][PDF] . He died a day later.
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San Francisco Fire Department's investigative team reportedly concluded the fire was caused by the 3D printer, and that Calvin died "as a result of complications due to the thermal injuries caused by the defective printer."
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Now, Calvin's parents are suing Alibaba as well as the printer's third-party manufacturer, Shenzhen Tronxy Technology for product liability and negligence. "Defendants…had a duty to warn Decedent Calvin Yu about the defects in, and the dangers associated with, use of the Tronxy X5SA 24V 3D printer of which they were aware, or in the exercise of ordinary care, should have been aware, at the time the printer left the defendants' control," it was claimed.
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"Defendants, and each of them, knew the Tronxy X5SA 24V 3D printer sold and shipped to Calvin Yu would be used without inspection for defects by ordinary consumers like Calvin Yu, now deceased and represented that the device could be safely used and would be fit for the ordinary purposes for which it was purchased," the lawsuit said.
Calvin's parents blasted Alibaba and others, claiming he suffered pain, emotional distress, despair and humiliation moments before the disaster. They believe that as successors in interest to Calvin's estate, Alibaba and Shenzhen Tronxy Technology should pay damages.
The amount was not immediately specified and is yet to be proved by the plaintiff's legal team.
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Alibaba was not immediately available for comment. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/06/09/alibaba_3d_printer.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YqJtgf@xeBEi3zp1EveRZgAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YqJtgf@xeBEi3zp1EveRZgAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YqJtgf@xeBEi3zp1EveRZgAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/23/blizzard_lawsuit_discrimination/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/24/alaska_smartphone_fire/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/27/apple_ipad_allegedly_torched_mans/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/01/in_brief_security/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YqJtgf@xeBEi3zp1EveRZgAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Lost face.
I wondered at that too. All I can suggest is that if my last thoughts were “oh no I’ve been killed by a shonky off-brand 3D printer” I’d find that pretty humiliating.
More seriously - and sympathetically - though, perhaps each of those words have very specific implications in the US civil legal system (e.g. “Pain: 1.5x damages multiplier. Humiliation: 1.4x multiplier”) hence their specific inclusion by the lawyers?
Ebay
Apart from the chances of anyone from Alibaba turning up in court in the USA
Has there been a successful case of anyone suing Ebay for the damages from a bit of tat they sold?
These have had firmware protections turned OFF
There's specific safety code in the Marlin firmware that literally everyone uses for FDM printers. It does things like check if the fans spin up when you turn the printer on, check if there's a sensible tach reading from the fans, check if there's a sensible temperature reading from the extruder, turn the extruder heat off after an idle period, turn the extruder off if the temp goes to zero or above a limit or a fan stops running.
Like all software, this is all configurable at compile time.
Unfortunately, some of the Chinese printers turn all this off. No idea why because it doesn't cost anything or save any money.
I hope cases like this get these printers banned from import.
Thomas Sanladerer and others have looked at this.
https://toms3d.org/2021/08/20/test-your-printers-for-thermal-runaway/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckQ9UWlmdVA
Re: These have had firmware protections turned OFF
VERY MUCH THIS.
Even with the thermal runaway function turned on, I make it a habit of being nearby while the thing is running, because you are dealing with a machine that's intentionally designed to melt plastic.
If you do buy a 3d printer, buy a reputable brand from a reputable company- the additional cost is worth it.
Tragic and all that, but "humiliation"?