STERLING – A California couple are suing Wahl Clipper Corp., contending their son died after using one of its products.
But the Sterling-based company says no evidence links the death to the company's beard and mustache trimmer.
The trial is set to start Tuesday in Los Angeles.
On the evening of Sept. 2, 2010, 16-year-old Ishan Bose-Pyne was using the trimmer when it ignited in flames, according to the lawsuit. He suffered third-degree burns to his chest, back, arms, neck, nose and mouth, the suit said.
His brother told authorities that he was in the bedroom next to the bathroom when he heard an electric buzzing sound followed by a scream.
He then heard the sound of his brother struggling to leave the bathroom. He saw his brother's upper torso engulfed in flames. Bose-Pyne ran downstairs and went outside to the family's swimming pool, where he jumped in.
His mother woke up and tried to put out the flames.
"After jumping into the pool, Ishan emerged naked ...," the lawsuit states.
He was taken to a hospital and died 11 days later.
In its response to the lawsuit, Wahl Clipper said the family could find no basis that the teen was using the company's product at the time of the incident. It also couldn't prove that a defect in the product caused the fire.
On that basis, Wahl Clipper asked a federal judge in Los Angeles for a summary judgment in its favor – essentially, to dismiss the suit. The judge didn't grant that request, but did bar the family from seeking punitive damages.
Bill Dempsey, Wahl's human resources director, said Wednesday that the company maintains the fire resulted from some other source. He said it was an "improbability" the trimmer caused it.
"It would not create the spark and heat to do anything close to this," Dempsey said.
The fire's ignition source was on the opposite side of the sink from where the trimmer was, he said.
"The trimmer wasn't even plugged in," he said.
The lawsuit said Wahl has recalled at least nine defective product models from 2003 to 2011.
"Indeed, it appears that releasing defective products into the stream of commerce is such a routine practice for Defendant Wahl that three of the five press releases announcing the recalls begin with the exact same five words 'despite [and/or during] rigorous quality control procedures,'" the lawsuit said.
Three of the recalls, the suit said, were due, among other things, to the risk of "possible electric shock" or "injury to the user."
In the California case, Wahl Clipper came up with alternative theories for Bose-Pyne's death, according to the lawsuit. One such theory, the plaintiffs said, involved the victim using Axe body spray that he intended to film and show off on the Internet.
This, the family said, was based on a photo taken by firefighters that showed a small plastic toy that Wahl Clipper incorrectly assumed was a video camera.
"Disappointingly, Defendant Wahl has turned against the victim and attempted to portray Ishan as an irresponsible and troubled teenager who brought this horrific incident upon himself," the lawsuit said.
Dempsey said some people have set themselves on fire with Axe spray.
Bose-Pyne, an honors student, was the son of Shonali Bose, an Indian film director and producer, and Bedabrata Pain, a former scientist for NASA and one of the inventors of active pixel sensor technology. Both of his parents are famous enough to have Wikipedia entries.
Wahl Clipper, founded in 1919, is Whiteside County's largest private employer.