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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Man Claims Super Soaker Tore His Eye

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CN) - A defective valve on a Super Soaker water gun made the "ammo" reservoir explode, and its "shards of plastic flying at great force" tore a man's iris, leaving him with irreversibly damaged vision, the man claims in Federal Court. Addison Nemmers sued Hasbro for product liability.

"The packaging for the Super Soaker XP-20 states, inter alia, 'Built-in safety valve prevents over-pressuring,'" according to the complaint.

But Nemmers says that wasn't the case.

The gun's water reservoir is pressurized by a user-activated air pump. "Over-pressurizing the water reservoir can cause the reservoir to explode, causing a risk of serious injury to the user and others in the vicinity," according to the complaint.

"As Mr. Nemmers was using the water gun in accordance with all directions, the water reservoir exploded, sending shards of plastic flying at great force. The water reservoir exploded because the safety valve was defective, and allowed excessive pressure to accumulate in the reservoir.

"One of the shards of plastic struck Mr. Nemmers in the left eye, causing a large corneoscleral laceration, with iridodialysis, i.e., tearing away of the iris from its attachment to the ciliary body, and hyphema, i.e., blood in the anterior chamber of the eye."

Nemmers says he was left with a permanently scarred cornea and "permanent, irreversible vision deficits."

He says he's also at greater risk for glaucoma, retinal detachment and cataracts for the rest of his life, in addition to pain and suffering, disability, emotional distress and inconvenience.

He seeks damages for negligence, product liability, and breach of warranty. He is represented by John Zick of Farmington Hills.

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