Two plaintiffs sued Fitbit smartwatches and Google for the fitness tracker’s tendency to overheat. The two California-based plaintiffs allege that the fitness trackers overheating lead to burns and fire hazards.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a statement people are buying Fitbit’s fitness trackers Burn calories and follow a healthy lifestyle, not burn your skin.
The plaintiffs allege that they purchased Fitbit’s Versa line of fitness trackers and have alleged that the watches pose a burn hazard. One plaintiff claims the smartwatch burned her daughter’s wrist, while the other claims she herself was the victim.
The complainants’ attorneys also attached photos of burn marks from other people using other models of the Fitbit, including the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Blaze, Inspire, and Inspire 2.
The plaintiffs also alleged that prior to the incident that led to the injuries, Fitbit’s customer support wasn’t exactly helpful with heating issues.
The documents filed by the plaintiffs included several screenshots of responses to Fitbit support on Twitter, where customers were frustrated with long wait times and unresponsive customer service while trying to get refunds for the recently recalled Ionic fitness tracker.
Fitbit had recalled all of the Ionic smartwatches it sold after discovering that there were some critical issues with the batteries used in the devices. It was found that the batteries could overheat beyond the safety threshold and burn customers. The company says it has recalled nearly 1 million units in the United States and about 7,00,000 units from around the world. Fitbit also set up a refund registration page to make returns easier.
The lawsuit acknowledges that while a recall was issued, it was not properly issued. The plaintiffs allege that not all batches with the defective batteries were recalled. They also claim that Google hasn’t done enough to contain the problem. They further claim that the recall and refund were only issued for the Ionic line of watches and did not include the other models that used the same faulty batteries.
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