SANTA MONICA (CNS) - A 39-year-old Santa Monica woman has settled her lawsuit alleging the glass head on a skin therapy wand she bought through Amazon.com exploded in 2019 even though she was using the device as directed.
The NuDerma skin therapy wand, made by Pure Daily Care, is represented as providing painless and effective treatment while reducing wrinkles and fine lines over time by boosting circulation and collagen, according to the lawsuit filed in May 2020 by plaintiff Azin Espahbod.
But the wand had a material defect in its glass head that can cause it to explode and break off, sending glass and a strong powerful electric current to the user, according to the suit, which also named as a co-defendant Onyx Distribution Inc., the alleged seller of the wand on the e-commerce company's site.
Espabod's attorneys filed court papers on Friday notifying Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein of a "conditional" settlement in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by July 28. No terms were divulged.
Amazon attorneys stated in their court papers that the company "indisputably did not sell the wand" and did not have "exclusive knowledge of, or actively conceal," information about the wand's alleged defect.
In addition, Espahbod received a refund for her wand and is "unlikely to use another," the Amazon lawyers stated in their court papers.
Espahbod issued a sworn statement describing what happened to her.
"The explosion sent both glass and a devastating electrocution into and through my hand, sending my blood splattering onto the walls and as far as the ceiling and leaving me with serious and debilitating injuries," she said
Espahbod said she called Amazon multiple times after being hurt while using the device in June 2019 and that the company stopped selling the wand for a while before resuming sales again a week later.
"I contacted Amazon again asking why the wand was being sold again and Amazon informed me that the product was changed and that Amazon was now selling a new-and-improved version of the product," Espahbod said.
The wand "was not of merchantable quality and was not safe and fit for its intended uses," according to the suit, which also said the alleged defect in the glass head "was substantially certain to result in a malfunction" during use by a consumer.
Amazon profited from wand sales through fees the company charges sellers like Onyx "to operate as a storefront on Amazon's website," the suit stated.