Carter v Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company
West Virginians Take Action Over Unsafe Wall Outlets Made By Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company
A class action has been filed against Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company on behalf of West Virginians whose homes use an allegedly unsafe type of electrical outlet in violation of state consumer safety laws. The action seeks unspecified compensatory damages.
Traditional electrical outlets use a set-screw to securely hold the copper wire that supplies current to the outlet. The action alleges that the outlets manufactured by Eagle Electric use a spring-loaded clamping device to hold the wires in place--if the spring becomes fatigued and fails, the wire may lose a secure connection to the outlet and become a fire hazard. This sort of outlet is occasionally referred to as a "back plug-in outlet."
The outlets targeted by the action are sold in hardware stores across the nation. The only way to ascertain if your home has them is to remove an outlet from the wall and look at its back. If the wires that bring current to the outlet are screwed down securely, your home does not have the plug-in type. If you are uncomfortable removing an outlet from the wall, you should contact an electrician to do it for you.
Certain cities, including Chicago, have banned the use of back plug-in outlets in certain applications. Underwriters Laboratories has issued a corrective bulletin about them, stating that enough complaints have been lodged to change the code standard.
