The Philadelphia Daily News reported on October 15 that Lasko Products, Inc., a fan manufacturer based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, was "smacked" with a $13.5 million verdict on Wednesday, October 14 after a 13-day trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. Jurors awarded in favor of Loretta Foster and her family after hearing a case that involved "a faulty fan motor [that] ignited a 2005 blaze" that resulted in the death or her son, Joshua Foster, "a 7-year-old Germantown boy."
Lasko Products is the largest fan manufacturer in the U.S. The defect was noticed in China-made motors that were installed in Lasko portable fans in 1999. Lasko had developed technology to fix the defect (which could cause fires) in 2004 , yet the company failed to alert consumers who already had defective fans, as well as failed to report the issue to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) until after Foster died.
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