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$10-million awarded for heater deaths
A man and his stepson camping in 1999 died from carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty Coleman heater.
Associated Press
Published June 26, 2005
WEST PALM BEACH - A jury awarded $10-million to the family of an electrician and his stepson, who died more than five years ago when a Coleman heater filled their camping tent with carbon monoxide.
Pedro Covas, 41, and Rolando Reyna, 16, were camping in north Florida over Thanksgiving weekend in 1999. They had an airtight 9-by-7-foot tent and a Coleman Focus 5 heater.
Authorities said the heater was defective and emitted lethal levels of the odorless, colorless gas. Covas and Reyna died in their sleep.
Flora Covas of Lake Worth sued the company in 2000. She blamed the company for the deaths of her son and husband. A jury agreed with her Friday.
The suit claimed that the heater's fuel lines could not be cleaned and that the company didn't include a warning against using the heater indoors or a safety switch to shut the heater off in the presence of excess carbon monoxide, as newer models have.
Coleman stopped making Focus heaters in 1996. The heaters have been linked to more than 60 deaths nationwide and an even greater number of injuries, said Minnesota attorney Mark Stageburg. He represented Covas in the lawsuit.
More cases against the company are pending in Michigan, Washington, Montana and Wisconsin, Stageburg said.
A Coleman spokeswoman said the company plans to appeal.
[Last modified June 26, 2005, 00:33:18]
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