Seatek brand, Model name “Brigantine” folding and beach chairs

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Emergency room

   Made Dec 27, 2012 · , sent to the company Jan 14, 2013 · , published by CPSC Jan 29, 2013

   The product, in the report: Folding wooden teak deck chair “Brigantine” model sold wholesale by Waterbrands LLC subsidiary Seatek. I have the chair and it is viewable online by keyword searching the model name “Brigantine” deck chair on Waterbrand.com.

   My client Mr. [REDACTED] is a yacht captain and yacht broker. On the date of the incident he stopped by the 85 foot yacht belonging to his friend and client Mr.[REDACTED]. They were planning future trips aboard the boat. Mr.[REDACTED] had brought several folding deck chairs earlier that morning at West Marine located at 2401 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The chairs are wholesaled distributed throughout the United States by a Waterbrands LLC subsidiary, Seateak . The chair is identified as their “Brigantine” model teak folding deck chair. The chairs have no instructions or warnings of any kind anywhere on them.

   Mr. [REDACTED] invited Mr.[REDACTED] to sit down in one of the chairs that were placed around a table on the aft deck of the boat. As soon as Mr.[REDACTED] sat down the support for the back of the chair broke and the chair began to collapse. The chair has no arm rests so Mr.[REDACTED] attempted to stand up before the chair collapsed completely by using his hands to push himself up from the seat of the chair. His left index finger was caught is a scissoring type of motion created by the legs of the chair as they collapsed. This traumatically amputated a large portion of the finger.

   Further inspection of both the broken chair and the undamaged chairs revealed the following: There is a small round piece of brass, 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch diameter that is attached to the bottom center of the back of the seat. When you unfold the chair this brass piece rests on a horizontal cross piece on the back of the chair and the chair appears ready for use. It is not. The manufacturer intends the chair user to maneuver the brass cylinder behind, around and under the horizontal piece of wood that is attached to the back of the chair. The seat bottom is then “hooked” onto the chair back.This stabilizes the back of the chair and allows the force exerted on the chair back by the chair user to be distributed to and supported by the front and back legs of the chair as well as to a second horizontal support piece attached to the lower portion of the legs of the chair . This second support is 1inch by 3/4 inch in width. If the 1/2 inch brass cylinder is not hooked around this horizontal support on the back of the chair but rather is simply placed on the top of the cross piece it is intended to be hooked onto the entire weight exerted onto the back of the chair by it’s occupant is supported only by the lower 1 inch by 3/4 inch cross piece. This is a grossly inadequate weight bearing capacity. This is what failed initially, causing the chair to collapse.

   There is no way for the chair’s users to know what the purpose of the brass knob is. The chair appears ready for use as soon as it is unfolded, without the seat of the chair being secured by the brass cylinder being hooked behind the horizontal piece of wood There is no instruction or warning on how to properly secure the chair for use or the consequences of failing to do so. The brass “hook” is located on the bottom of the seat and is obscured from view without very close inspection. Even with close inspection its purpose is not apparent without instruction and warning. For these reason the design of this chair is extremely dangerous and the likelihood of collapse and injury very high.

   Model

   Brigantine 60060

   Serial number

   None

   Bought from

   West Marine

   Bought

   May 5, 2012

   Where

   Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Other

   Who was involved

   Age 56, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Client, Patient, Student, Etc. (professional relationship)

   As this report names them

   Brand Seatek brand, Model name “Brigantine”, made or sold by WATERBRANDS, LLC / DEREMA GROUP, INC

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources