Woman sues Dunnes Stores over glass jug which shattered after she poured hot water into it
A woman who claims a glass jug she bought in Dunnes Stores exploded and shattered after she poured hot water from a kettle into it has sued in the High Court.
Eva Cekanova, who is from Slovakia, told the High Court in her home country tea is made in a big glass jug.
She said she boiled a kettle in her Dublin apartment and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring the hot water which was at a temperature of between 80 to 90 degrees on top of a watermelon teabag in the tall jug.
‘I was just making tea, like I did a million times before and it never happened. The water was not boiling,” she said.
She said the tall jug shattered into pieces and she fell back so that the liquid hit her thigh, knee and legs and she suffered burns which have left her with scarring.
Dunnes Stores has contended the glass jug was intended for cold drinks such as juice or cordial, and not intended for hot liquid.
The High Court heard Dunnes Stores has sold 11,000 such glass jugs, which are handblown in Mexico, in the last four years and the only complaint has been from Ms Cekanova.
Eva Cekanova (30) , Windmill Terrace, Clonsilla, Dublin has sued Dunnes Stores over the accident with the jug which she bought at the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin on December 5, 2015.
It is claimed that when she poured hot water into the jug the following day, the jug suddenly and without warning shattered, showering her legs.
It is claimed there was an alleged failure to ensure the placement of any or any adequate warning on the jug and that she had been sold an allegedly defective and dangerous homeware item.
It is also claimed there was an alleged failure to have in place a system to ensure consistent use of warning stickers on the product.
Dunnes Stores denies all the claims and that the incident occurred as alleged. It contends Ms Cekanova allegedly failed to heed a warning sticker on the jug which Dunnes says specifically states not to use hot water in the jug.
In evidence, Ms Cekanova said she had bought the glass jug when she and her husband moved into their new apartment. She had made tea in the jug that evening and the accident happened the next morning as she prepared breakfast. She said she would not have bought the jug if it had a label warning not to use it for hot liquids.
Cross-examined by Dunnes Stores counsel Marcus Daly SC, Ms Cekanova said she had “never before in my life” heard of putting something metal like a spoon into glass when pouring hot liquid into it.
Counsel put it to her the accident was her own fault.
Ms Cekanova asked why was a warning label on some jugs and not others. “If I was warned I would not have put hot water and there was no sticker on the jug,” she said.
Ms Cekanova’s husband, Marcin said after the jug shattered his wife was screaming and he brought her to the bathroom where he put cold water on her legs and she later got medical treatment. He said they bought the jug for making tea and there was no warning sticker on it.
A Dunnes Stores manager Ken Young, who talked to Ms Cekanova and logged her complaint 12 days after the accident, told the court she indicated where she had suffered burns. He said she was wearing leggings which struck him as odd if she had burned herself.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross will give judgement on Friday.
