Two Years after Maytag Lawsuit Settled another Recall Looms

Two years after Maytag settled a lawsuit with two million consumers over its Neptune washers, another Maytag recall is looming. The Neptune washers were plagued by mold, mildew and offensive odor according to the consumer affairs lawsuit.

Today, Maytag-Samsung Electronics is recalling 250,000 Maytag and 20,000 front-loading washers worldwide. Because of a product defect, water leakage into the washing machines’ electrical connections could cause electric shorts and start fires.

So far, Maytag has received five reports of incidents involving small fires contained within the washers. No injuries or fires outside the washing machines have been reported yet. As the recall develops, however, there may be many product liability lawsuits coming out of the woodwork because of the scale of the recall and the potential for damage to person and property.

Maytag is not the only large appliance company under fire for product liability claims. Whirpool is alleged to have given customers the cold shoulder for years over complaints about their side-by-side refrigerators leaking water and causing damage to food and floors. Plaintiffs in Arkansas are seeking class action status in federal court against Whirpool and seeking upwards of $5 million.