Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Lawsuit
An Amazon solar eclipse glasses lawsuit may be an option for people who experienced serious eye injuries after using defective solar eclipse glasses. On August 21, 2017, millions of Americans watched as a total solar eclipse passed through the contiguous United States for the first time in decades. To protect viewers from experiencing potentially lifelong eye damage, people were encouraged to use solar eclipse glasses to view the rare event. While many pairs of glasses sold online legitimately met international safety standards, others did not, and some people reportedly may have purchased defective glasses sold by Amazon. Affected consumers and their families may be eligible to pursue compensation for damages with the help of a products liability attorney.
If you or a loved one purchased a pair of solar eclipse glasses sold through Amazon, contact Attorney Group to learn about your options. We offer free, no obligation consultations. We can help answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a claim we can connect you with an affiliated attorney who can assist you throughout the legal process.
Have You Seen an Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Lawsuit Commercial?
You may have seen an Amazon solar eclipse glasses lawsuit commercial on television and wondered whether you or a loved one have been affected by defective solar eclipse glasses and, if so, whether you are eligible to pursue a claim against the manufacturer, distributor or retailer. The purpose of this article is to provide you with additional information about solar eclipse glasses lawsuits so that you have a better understanding of your options.
What is a Solar Eclipse?
Total solar eclipses occur when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth and completely covers the entire face of the sun. A total solar eclipse may last up to only two to three minutes for those people who are in what is known as the “path of totality,” a narrow area in which the moon’s shadow completely covers the sun. A partial eclipse, however, can last anywhere from two to three hours.
What are Solar Eclipse Glasses?
Solar eclipse glasses, also known as solar viewing glasses, are special eyewear designed specifically for direct viewing of the sun. Standard sunglasses cannot filter out potentially eye damaging radiation caused by the sun, and solar viewers, including eclipse glasses are required for safe viewing of solar events such as eclipses. Eclipse glasses are typically inexpensive, and are available for about $2 in most retail outlets.
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Solar Eclipse Glasses Safety
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), those wishing to view a total solar eclipse should:
- Always inspect the solar filter before use; if scratched or damaged, discard it. Read and follow any instructions printed on or packaged with the filter.
- Always supervise children using solar filters.
- Stand still and cover eyes with the eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun. After looking at the sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the sun.
- Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.
- Do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter the eye(s), causing serious injury.
- Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device. Note that solar filters must be attached to the front of any telescope, binoculars, camera lens, or other optics.
- Remove the solar filter only when the moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear, replace the solar viewer to look at the remaining partial phases.
- Outside the path of totality, always use a safe solar filter to view the sun directly.
- Keep eyeglasses on. Place the eclipse glasses on over them, or hold a handheld viewer in front of them.
Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017
On Monday, August 21, 2017, the first total solar eclipse passed through the contiguous United States in almost one hundred years. It was also the first to pass through any portion of the U.S. in almost four decades. According to multiple media outlets and NASA, a total of 14 states experienced the eclipse’s “path of totality,” and a partial eclipse was visible to the rest of the U.S.
The eclipse’s shadow began over the Oregon coast as a partial eclipse at 9:05 a.m. PDT, and the total eclipse began there at 10:16 a.m. PDT. The total eclipse’s land coverage ended along the South Carolina coast at about 2:44 p.m. EDT.
Although it is safe to look directly at the sun without any eye protection during the totality phase of a total solar eclipse, NASA encouraged people use special solar filters or eclipse glasses when viewing the total solar eclipse at any other time, particularly during the partial phases of the eclipse.
A pinhole camera, which is a homemade device made with two pieces of paper or cardboard, is another tool that allows viewers to see the projected image of the sun, and the partial solar eclipse, without looking directly into the sun.
Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses
In the months leading up to the eclipse, retail outlets were flooded with counterfeit glasses. Eclipse glasses must be able to block most visible light, as well as most UV and infrared light to be effective. For visible light, the user should only be able to see the sun, sunlight reflected off shiny metal, halogen bulbs, the filament in unfrosted incandescent bulbs, and similarly intense sources.
NASA and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) encouraged consumers to purchase eclipse glasses listed on their list of verified products to ensure safe viewing. Only glasses compliant with international safety standards are considered safe to use.
Counterfeits of reputable vendors’ products, some even claiming the company’s name and proper ISO identification, were in circulation in the days and weeks leading up to the solar eclipse. While it is uncertain how many eclipse glasses were in circulation overall, distributors of purportedly solar-safe glasses reportedly could be found almost anywhere on the Internet, including online retailer such as Amazon.
Defective Solar Eclipse Glasses Injuries
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, looking directly at the sun with the naked eye or improper equipment can cause serious damage to a person’s eyes. Even short exposures can potentially lead to vision impairment, including blindness.
Short-term damage caused by looking at the sun without proper eye protection may include solar keratitis, which is similar to sunburn of the cornea. Symptoms typically occur within twenty-four hours and may include eye pain and light sensitivity.
Likewise, long-term or permanent damage may include solar retinopathy, which occurs when the sun burns a hole in the retina, usually at the fovea (the focus of the retina). Symptoms can occur as long as several weeks after the incident, and can include loss of central vision and/or other vision, as well as eye pain and light sensitivity, afterimages, and changes in color vision. Depending on the severity of damage, vision problems can last for several months or be permanent.
Lauren A. on May 16, 2016
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Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Recall
On or around August 10, 2017, Amazon began recalling potentially counterfeit eclipse glasses sold on its website and pulled listings for eclipse viewing glasses that “may not comply with industry standards.” According to PBS NewsHour, the online retailer made the decision to check an undisclosed list of eclipse glasses vendors “out of an abundance of caution.”
Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Class Action Lawsuit Claims
According to a report published by Reuters in August 2017, a South Carolina couple has filed a proposed class action lawsuit after purchasing allegedly defective eclipse glasses from Amazon earlier in the month in preparation for the first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in more than a century. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon knew or should have known the eclipse glasses were defective in design and/or manufacturing and were “not fit for their intended and ordinary use.”
In addition to violation of South Carolina state law and other products liability laws throughout the U.S., plaintiffs claim they “began to experience headaches and eye watering” after reportedly using the glasses to view the solar eclipse on August 21. In addition to relatively immediate damages, the couple allegedly developed other serious injuries in the days following the event, including vision impairment, blurriness and distorted vision.
Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Lawsuit News
- August 29, 2017Proposed class action lawsuit against online-retailer Amazon is filed in South Carolina claiming that the company violated various state products liability protection laws. Plaintiffs also claim to have suffered physical injuries, including vision impairment, blurriness and distorted vision.
- August 21, 2017A total solar eclipse passed through the contiguous United States.
- August 19, 2017According to PBS NewsHour, Amazon recalled its eclipse glasses “out of an abundance of caution” via email to its purchasers, offering a refund to affected customers but failing to disclose either the “scale of the recall or a public list of offending vendors.”
How an Amazon Solar Eclipse Glasses Lawsuit Attorney Can Help
Product makers have a duty to provide safe products. If there are risks of harm associated with their products, they also must provide adequate warnings. If a product maker fails to fulfill this duty, it could be held liable in lawsuits for injuries that may result.
In addition to the manufacturer, the responsible party might include the designer, the distributor, the supplier and/or the retailer. One or more of these parties may be held accountable for any injury caused by the defective product.
People injured by Amazon solar eclipse glasses may be eligible to recover money for:
Medical Expenses
Lost Wages
Pain and Suffering
The families of those who have died may be eligible to recover money for funeral expenses and the pain that comes with losing a loved one.
