Did Crocs Adequately Warn Parents Of Escalator Dangers

Wide, flat, and flexible, Crocs clogs have become increasingly popular in recent years, with the company selling 6 million of them in 2005, reported Good Morning America. However, some of the characteristics that may contribute to the shoes comfort also make them dangerous in certain situations. Their soft, flexible material provide wearers with little protection from heavy falling objects, as well as from the edges of escalators, which have caused numerous injuries in recent years. With cases of children injured in Orange County, California and elsewhere, a well as several lawsuits against the company, safety advocates and attorneys are questioning whether Crocs adequately warned parents about the dangers of wearing the shoes while riding escalators.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) formally recognized the risks associated with escalators in a 2008 consumer advisory. At that time, the agency stated that in 2007 accidents on escalators resulted in 11,000 injuries, 10 percent of which involved the entrapment of hands, feet, or shoes. According to the CPSC, the foot was the most common area injured, and [soft-sided] shoes are the most likely to get stuck and pose the possibility of injury to the rider. Of the 77 entrapment accidents that resulted in injury between January 2006 and May 2008, only two did not involve soft-sided flexible clogs and slides.

In Orange County, California, a 4-year-old girl recently suffered serious injury while wearing Crocs on an escalator, explains an attorney. The accident occurred in August 2011 while the girl was riding an escalator in the Westminster Mall and her shoe became caught in the side of the machine. She lost her toe and some of the skin on one of her feet.

In January 2012, the girls parents brought a lawsuit against Crocs, alleging that the warning tags accompanying the shoes were easily overlooked, reported the Orange County Register. If the parents opt to sue the company under the legal theory of liability for failure to warn, they will have to prove that the shoes are inherently dangerous when worn in a certain waysuch as on an elevatorand that the company failed to sufficiently warn consumers of this risk.

The success of this argument may depend on how visible the warning label was and how effectively it conveyed the risk of injury or harm to the parents. According to the lawyer representing the parents, the warning label was one of three tags that came with the shoes, so the parents may not have noticed it.

One possible defense the company may use is that no actual defect exists and that the product performed as it was supposed to and/or that the injuries did not arise in the normal course of use. Crocs are flexible shoes and they are non-stick shoes. It is natural that any rubber shoe would not provide as much protection from an escalator and any non-skid shoe would make it more difficult to quickly move the feet. As such, when a child wears Crocs (or a parent dresses a child in Crocs) and places his or her foot near the edge of an escalator, this is not an intended use of the product, especially since a label expressly says not to place the foot near the edge of an escalator. If a plaintiff defies manufacturers instructions to refrain from doing something, the plaintiff cannot then hold the company liable for injury that occurs when doing the forbidden task, unless the plaintiff wasn't adequately warned.

While the outcome of this case will likely determine whether or not Crocs failed to adequately warn consumers about the risks associated with wearing the shoes on escalators, the best course of action may be to heed the CPSCs advisory not to wear any soft, flexible shoes or sandals on the machines.