A mattress maker is being sued by customers who purchased a popular mattress from Amazon and other stores around the country, alleging that the product’s fibreglass fibres have harmed their health.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Zinus, Inc. for its “Green Tea Mattress.” A planned class-action lawsuit being conducted by a California lady on behalf of thousands of people is one of the accusations.
The lives of thousands of people from all across the United States have been irreparably damaged, according to James Radcliffe, a personal injury attorney at Cueto Law, who spoke to the Los Angeles Times.
Purchasing a Zinus memory foam mattress from Walmart for their child in 2019 resulted in the contamination of their home with fibreglass, according to Amanda Chandler and Robert Durham of Illinois, who claim they spent months in a hotel and spent more than $20,000 on professional mediation services. Radcliffe’s firm filed a lawsuit on their behalf in 2020.
Another lady, Vanessa Gutierrez of Los Angeles, told the Times that the mattress she purchased for her 4-year-old daughter had caused her about $20,000 in damages and left scars on the child’s chest and calves from the fibreglass.
According to a reviewer on Amazon, they “unzipped [an] invisible fibreglass storm into our house” after they unzipped the mattress’ outer cover, CBS News said.
The fibreglass is “normal in the mattress industry,” according to a spokesman of Zinus, and is not regarded as dangerous by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
“The majority of consumer complaints involving fibreglass leakage from mattresses that staff have looked at involves the outer cover being taken off or being harmed. The exposure to fibreglass particles should be minimal if the outer cover is still in place “CSPC informed CBS News.
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study in February by the California Department of Public Health that concluded fibreglass fibres posed “a potential risk of consumer exposure if the zipper on the outside cover is unzipped.”
A less expensive fire-resistant material is fibreglass. On Amazon, the queen-sized Green Tea memory foam mattress costs about $310. According to Zinus, it includes instructions cautioning buyers not to remove the outside mattress cover in order to safeguard the fire barrier inside.
Requests for comment from CBS News were not answered by Amazon. Walmart did and stated that the initial complaint no longer included it and other shops.
More details:
More information on mattresses is available from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
SOURCES: CBS News; Los Angeles Times
