Are You Looking for a Tabletop Fire Pit Injury Attorney?
Small, stylish tabletop fire pits promise cozy ambiance with a clean-burning flame. Too many instead deliver flash fires, exploding fuel streams, and life-altering burns. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned consumers to stop using alcohol or other liquid-burning tabletop fire pits that violate voluntary safety standards, linking them to at least two deaths and dozens of severe burn injuries in recent years.
The agency explains why these devices are so dangerous: many require users to pour flammable liquid into an open bowl and ignite it in the same place, a design linked to pool fires and flame jetting, with alcohol flames that can exceed 1,600°F and cause third-degree burns in under a second.
At David W. Martin Law Group, our South Carolina personal injury attorneys represent residents and visitors who were burned by defective tabletop fire pits in homes, short-term rentals, restaurants, and event spaces. We move fast to secure evidence, identify all responsible parties in the supply chain, and build a damages case that reflects the real medical, psychological, and financial impact of severe burns.
Understanding The Hazard: Pool Fires and Flame Jetting
Tabletop devices that burn liquid alcohol create two distinct dangers that ordinary users cannot reliably manage. First, pool fires occur when flammable liquid is poured into an open container and ignited where it sits; the flame can race across the surface area and suddenly intensify beyond the device’s footprint. Second, flame jetting happens during refueling when an unseen flame ignites vapors at the mouth of a fuel container, sending a pressurized jet of fire and burning liquid toward nearby people or surfaces. The CPSC has tied these designs to fatalities and at least 60 injury reports, and has urged immediate disposal of products that require igniting pooled fuel in an open bowl.
These warnings are not theoretical. The CPSC issued brand-specific alerts and recalls, including a notice regarding FLIKRFIRE tabletop fireplaces, and a recall involving tens of thousands of Colsen-branded tabletop fire pits after reports of flame jetting and spreading fires that caused severe burns, surgeries, and permanent disfigurement.
Safety Standards and What They Mean for Your Case
Modern tabletop fire features are expected to conform to ASTM F3363-19, a voluntary safety specification designed to prevent both pool fires and flame jetting. The CPSC’s alerts explain that designs requiring ignition of fuel where it is poured violate this standard.
Regulators describe compliant designs as those that avoid holding a pool of alcohol and that prevent users from refueling in the same location as the flame. Evidence that a product violates these principles helps establish defect and foreseeability in a South Carolina products case.
How South Carolina Product Liability Law Applies
South Carolina recognizes strict products liability by statute. Any seller engaged in the business of selling a product that is in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition may be liable for physical harm caused by that product, so long as it reaches the consumer without substantial change.
Plaintiffs may also pursue negligence and breach-of-warranty theories where appropriate. In practice, that means manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers in the chain of commerce can be responsible for design defects, inadequate warnings, or instructions that invite unsafe use.
Deadlines matter. Most South Carolina personal injury claims, including product cases, must be filed within three years of when the injury was or should have been discovered. Early legal help is crucial because video, receipts, packaging, and digital sales data are easily lost or destroyed.
Who May Be Liable for Tabletop Fire Burns and Injuries
Severe burn cases often involve more than a single company.
We analyze the entire chain of distribution and any property-owner negligence, including:
- Manufacturers and Importers. Companies that designed or brought the product into U.S. commerce may be liable for violating ASTM-aligned safety principles or for inadequate warnings.
- Private-Label Retailers and Online Sellers. Sellers that brand, market, or directly sell tabletop fire pits can be responsible under South Carolina’s strict liability statute.
- Short-Term Rental Hosts, Venues, and Restaurants. A property owner who provides or allows a hazardous device without warnings, supervision, or safe placement can share fault, especially where alcohol service, crowded seating, or indoor use is involved.
- Fuel Manufacturers and Container Suppliers. Mismatched fuels, confusing labels, or containers that vent poorly can contribute to flame jetting.
The Evidence We Use to Prove Defect and Causation
Burn litigation is won with meticulous documentation and expert analysis.
We build your case with:
- Full Product Work-Up. Model identification, purchase trail, packaging, instructions, warnings, and marketing claims.
- Standards and Human-Factors Analysis. Comparison of the design against ASTM F3363-19 safety principles and evaluation of foreseeable user behavior, including refueling and partial flame visibility.
- Fire Science and Fuel Behavior. Expert reconstruction of pool-fire growth, vaporization, and flame-jetting dynamics, supported by testing when appropriate.
- Medical Proof.Burn-surgeon records, graft counts, infection history, scar-maturation tracking, range-of-motion testing, and psychological assessments for trauma and anxiety.
- Comparable Incidents, Recalls, and Alerts. Prior complaints, recalls, and safety warnings establish notice and foreseeability to manufacturers and sellers.
Damages: What Full Compensation Should Cover
Third-degree burns are not one-and-done injuries. They often require staged procedures, lengthy wound care, and a lifetime of scar management.
A fair settlement or verdict should account for:
- Past and Future Medical Care. Emergency care, debridements, grafts, infections, compression therapy, laser or revision procedures, and pain management.
- Lost Wages and Earning Capacity. Time away from work, diminished hours, or job changes due to physical limits or visible scarring.
- Scarring, Disfigurement, and Emotional Harm. Anxiety in social settings, sleep disruption, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Out-Of-Pocket Costs. Travel to burn centers, home supplies, dressings, and caregiver support.
- Punitive Damages Where Warranted. When the evidence shows reckless disregard for known hazards, we pursue punishment and deterrence consistent with South Carolina law.
How David W. Martin Law Group Builds Your Case
Severe burn cases demand fast action and deep resources.
From day one, we:
- Preserve Evidence and Secure the Supply Chain. We send preservation letters to sellers and platforms, gather purchase data, and prevent spoliation.
- Assemble the Right Team. Burn surgeons, fire-protection engineers, human-factors experts, and economists quantify fault and damages.
- Translate Science into Plain English. Diagrams, animations, and timelines show how a split-second design failure caused years of consequences.
- Pursue Every Coverage Layer. Manufacturer policies, distributor and retailer coverage, and premises policies at the location of the incident.
- Protect Your Privacy and Recovery. We manage insurer communications and time negotiations to your medical reality, not a claims calendar.
Our Greenville, SC Personal Injury Law Firm at the David W. Martin Law Group provides the Following Practice Areas:
- Bicycle Accident
- Nursing Home Negligence
- Medical Malpractice
- Workers’ Compensation
- Wrongful Death
- Truck Accident
- Sexual Abuse
- Social Media Teen Harm
- Slip and Fall
- Rideshare Physical and Sexual Assault
- Negligent Security
- Premises Liability
- Police Chase Accident
- Pedestrian Accident
- Motorcycle Accident
- Firefighting Foam Attorneys
- Hotel, Resort & Vacation Injury
- Drunk Driving
- Dram Shop
- Dog Bite
- Amazon/Deliver Driver
- Defective Products
- Daycare/Childcare Negligence
- Camp Lejeune
- Boat Accident
- Bicycle Accident
Speak With Our South Carolina Tabletop Fire Pit Injury Lawyers Today
If a tabletop fire pit caused burns to you or someone you love, you are not alone, and you do not have to navigate this fight by yourself. Call (803) 548-2468 to schedule a consultation with David W. Martin Law Group. We will explain your rights, preserve critical evidence, and pursue full compensation while you focus on healing.
