Wego Kite Tubes
Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tubes recalled after 2 deaths; total of 39 serious personal injuries reported - 7/13/06
The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced a recall today of Wego Kite Tubes manufactures by Sportsstuff, Inc., of Omaha, NE, due to 39 personal injury reports. 29 of the reports the CPSC is aware of resulted in medical treatment. In addition, Sportsstuff had received reports of two deaths in the U.S. and what has been described as a variety of serious injuries.
The Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tube is a 10-foot-wide, circular, yellow inflatable watercraft that looks like an inner tube with fabric stretched across the interior opening that forms a "floor." The floor of the Wego Kite Tube has black caution warning stripes and the words "Model 53-5000" is printed on the kite tube near the product valve. The cover of the Wego Kite Tube has a skull and crossbones design and the statement "Never Kite higher than you are willing to fall." Wego Kite Tubes were imported and sold through marine distributors, mail order catalogs, and retailers from October 2005 to July 2006 for between $500 and $600.
Kite tubes are designed to be towed behind power boats. A kite tube rider becomes airborne by pulling on handles attached to the floor of the tube. Just before the July 4th holiday, the CPSC responded to the increasing number of personal injury reports it had received from tube kiters by issuing a consumer advisory about the dangers inherent in the extreme sport of tube kiting. Personal injury reports received by the CPSC linked to tube kiting include:
- A broken neck
- A punctured lung
- Chest injuries
- Back injuries
- Facial injuries
- Broken ribs
- And loss of consciousness
Consumers should immediately stop using Wego Kite Tubes and contact Sportsstuff at 1-866-831-5524 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday for replacement products.
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Release #06-210, July 13, 2006.
Tube kiting banned from Triangle area lakes
The Army Corps of Engineers banned tube kiting on Jordan, Falls and Kerr lakes in North Carolina on Thursday, July 13, 2006, after four serious personal injury incidents involving the sport. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission reported …
Product Liability
Defective or deficient consumer products that cause injuries to consumers can be the subjects of product liability lawsuits brought to trial by a personal injury lawyer. Frequently recalled products include cars, pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs, children’s toys, defective articles of clothing, and other common household products.
Have you been injured while tube kiting?
Our law firm is investigating possible product liability and personal injury issues related to the sport of tube kiting, including any liability on the part of Sportsstuff of Omaha, NE, manufacturer of Wego Kite Tubes in the U.S. Sportsstuff has received reports of two deaths of tube kite riders of their products.
Kite tubes are large watercrafts about ten feet in diameter that resemble inner tubes with fabric stretched across the inside to make a floor. Riders grasp handles on the floor of the kite tube to become airborne while the tube is towed behind a power boat or ski boat. 39 separate adverse event reports were received by the Consumer Products Safety Commission involving incidents with these products, including broken legs, a broken neck, a punctured lung, and loss of consciousness. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considers the products so dangerous they have banned them from lakes in their jurisdiction in North Carolina, including Jordan, Kerr and Falls Lakes in the area around Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, NC (Source: Raleigh News & Observer, July 15, 2006).
If these products are unsafe, and the companies failed to warn consumers of that fact, a product liability issue may exist. Our law firm would like to hear from you if you have been injured while tube kiting. Contact us today for more information.
