A Medical Device Daily

A lawsuit has been filed for the Sept. 13, 2009 fire death of a Bastrop, Louisiana woman. The lawsuit claims that Merrimac Ellis burned to death after her motorized wheelchair, made by Invacare (Elyria, Ohio), burst into flames while she was operating it. The fire occurred at the Bond House Apartments in Bastrop, Louisiana, an apartment for elderly citizens. The fire forced the evacuation of residents of the Bond House.

"The origin of the fire was unquestionably the wheelchair," said Travis Holley, one of the attorneys representing the family of Ellis. "And there is no question that Ms. Ellis died a horrible death as a result."

Holley and J. R. Whaley of Neblett, Beard & Arsenault are the attorneys who filed the suit on behalf of the family of Ellis.

According to the lawsuit Holley and Whaley filed, on Sept. 13, 2009, Ellis was in her apartment and could be heard by neighbors yelling, "Help, I'm on fire!" The lawsuit states that when the Bastrop Fire Department responded and entered her apartment, firefighters found Ellis trapped in her powered wheelchair, in front of her kitchen sink, and that both Ellis and the powered wheelchair were engulfed in flames.

The lawsuit alleges that despite repeated attempts, Ellis was unable to free herself from the burning chair and that in its subsequent investigation, the State of Louisiana Fire Marshall observed bloody fingerprints under the sink where Ellis was sitting when the fire consumed her. The lawsuit states that "These bloody fingerprints are indication of Ellis' valiant, yet unsuccessful, attempts to free herself from the burning chair to save her life."

The lawsuit also alleges that Invacare, a manufacturer of motorized wheelchairs, has a history of fires originating in their powered wheelchairs and details a 2000 recall Invacare ordered of more than 215,000 powered wheelchairs. Ellis' was manufactured after the recall.

The lawsuit also blames the Bond House for inadequate sprinkler and alarm systems and the companies the lawsuit alleges were responsible for the maintenance of those sprinkler and audible alarm systems.

Invacare has issued no statements about the lawsuit. On the company's web site, a note about product recall posted last September indicates that a recall was initiated to address the issue of the stability lock on the wheelchair not functioning and also to address improvements implemented by Invacare.

"Invacare has become aware that on some chairs, the stability lock feature may not be engaging properly or consistently. If the stability lock feature does not engage properly, the wheelchair may exhibit a tendency to do one or more of the following:

• veer to one side

• rock forward onto its front riggings

• drive in an unintended circular motion; and/or

• fall forward or to one side and injure the user."