Father To Pursue Lawsuit Against British Company Linked to Toxic Humidifier Deaths In South Korea
This is horrible way to lose a son, to a toxic humidifier:
A South Korean father who claims to have lost his son to a harmful Oxy Reckitt Benckiser humidifier sterilizer said Saturday he will file a compensation suit against the British company later this month.
Kim Deok-jong, 40, said he decided to file the damage suit against the British company after CEO Rakesh Kapoor refused his demand to visit South Korea to make an apology in front of the sterilizer’s victims. His 5-year-old son died in 2009 after battling a respiratory disease.
His legal representative will notify Oxy of his intention to file for a compensation claim next week, a preliminary process needed to proceed with a formal suit. (………)
A criminal suit will be possible after South Korean prosecutors announce its investigation results, which would provide the legal grounds that Oxy headquarters approved sales of the harmful product in the Korean market. (…………)
The humidifier disinfectant case, one of the worst scandals involving a consumer product using chemicals, came to light after four pregnant women died of lung problems for unknown reasons in 2011. A government-led investigation confirmed a connection between more than 100 people who died of lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers.
The focus of the investigation will be on whether the company’s high-ranking executives approved the sales of its disinfectants while knowing the health risks. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link.
Kim Deok-jong, 40, said he decided to file the damage suit against the British company after CEO Rakesh Kapoor refused his demand to visit South Korea to make an apology in front of the sterilizer’s victims.
—– end quote —–
Apparently, Mr. Kapoor enjoys all the benefits of being a CEO without having to face up to any of the attendant responsibilities. He didn’t even have the moral backbone to visit with victims’ families and make a public apology. I wish Mr. Kim the best of luck as he moves forward with his lawsuit.
Having worked in a corporate toxicology lab in the past, I thought this was an interesting case and looked into it a little further.
PHMG was a new compound developed as a fungucide. It likely passed all relevent regulatory tests. They don’t always catch everything though. There’s a possibility as well that those who suffered injuries due to the chemical did not follow the instructions for use properly and used too much of the cleaner, increasing their exposure to toxic levels.
The chief of the company’s korean division already apologized and offered compensation to the victims. Mr. Kapoor became CEO in 2011, the same year that the chemical in question was removed from the product. I don’t see how he bears any responsibility to travel from England to Korea to apologize after the local offical has already done so. This looks to me like a case of a Korean trying to use their biased legal system to squeeze a foreigner for more money.