(Credit: Petra Richli/Adobe Stock)
USAA has filed a subrogation lawsuit against appliance giant Whirlpool after the insurer paid out over $123,000 for a home flood caused by a dishwasher.
The lawsuit filed by USAA states that it was determined the water in the customer’s home came from his Whirlpool dishwasher. The point of failure in the appliance was reportedly identified to be a fractured solenoid valve, which was manufactured by Robershaw.
The customer reportedly purchased the Whirlpool dishwasher in 2022.
The lawsuit states: “The discharge of water occurred because the solenoid-controlled water valve in the product at issue failed to conform to the physical and performance specifications of the manufacturer, distributor, and seller of the product. The solenoid-controlled water valve in the product at issue was in an unreasonably dangerous condition because it was defective at the time of manufacture, distribution, and sale by Defendant, and was unable to withstand the ordinary and foreseeable conditions of use.”
USAA argues that Robershaw and Whirlpool are responsible for the claim since the dishwasher failure was the source of the incident.
In the suit, USAA claims that the condition of the dishwasher, due to the faulty valve, was unreasonably dangerous at the time of its manufacturing, distribution and sale. These flaws, they claim, caused the product to be prone to failure.
The insurer accuses Whirlpool of failing to safeguard against the possibility of the solenoid-controlled water valve fracturing and leaking, along with other alleged “negligent acts and/or omissions with respect to the design and/or manufacture of the dishwasher.”
USAA has asked the court to award the company $42,820.61 for damages, as well as other damages provided in court.
(Photo credit: Petra Richli/Adobe Stock)
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