The complaint for this class action alleges that the bacterial contamination that found its way into certain lots of Cottonelle Wipes products was not invisible. The complaint reports that some of the wipes showed “dark-brown spots on the surface and mildew-like odors emanating from their packaging” that should have alerted their maker, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, to the existence of a problem. The complaint alleges that the wipes were contaminated with a bacterial strain that caused urinary infections and other problems.
The products at issue are Cottonelle Flushable Wipes and Cottonelle GentlePlus Flushable Wipes.
The plaintiff in this case, Dawn Rothfeld, bought the wipes between February and October 2020 and used them after she used the toilet, on a daily basis. After using them for a while, the complaint says, she began to experience urinary tract infections and related problems. These led to “pain; weakness; fatigue’ stomach discomfort; nausea; vomiting; difficulty walking; stress” and other health problems.
The complaint alleges that the problems were caused by “a dangerous bacterial strain called Pluralibacter gergoviae” that contaminated certain lots of the wipes. According to the complaint, Kimberly-Clark does not have “appropriate safeguards to detect and/or remediate bacterial contamination in its products” or does not apply them competently, and so was initially unaware of the problem.
The contamination began in February 2020, but the complaint claims Kimberly-Clark kept on distributing the contaminated lots for another seven months. During that time, the complaint claims the company was “failing to detect the bacterial contamination, warn the public, or otherwise [take] any steps whatsoever to remediate the serious health risks” to which it was exposing customers.
The complaint claims the company’s “investigation was neither prompt nor careful. Only after a number of customer complaints regarding skin irritation, infection, and other complications became overwhelming did Kimberly-Clark conduct the investigation and product testing required to discover the bacterial contamination.”
It finally recalled the wipes on October 9, 2020.
The counts include negligence, breaches of warranties, strict product liability, and violations of New York’s General Business Law.
Two classes have been defined for this action.
- The New York Statutory Damages Class is all residents of New York who bought any of the Cottonelle Wipes between February 7, 2020 and a date to be determined through discovery in this case that establishes when all recalled products were removed from sale to consumers.
- The Nationwide Personal Injury Class is all persons in the US who suffered urinary tract infections or other illnesses between February 7, 2020 and the present after using any of the Cottonelle Wipes that were subject to the recall.
Topic: Consumer, Injury
Most Recent Case Event
Cottonelle Wipes and Urinary Tract Infections Complaint
March 17, 2021
The complaint for this class action alleges that the bacterial contamination that found its way into certain lots of Cottonelle Wipes products was not invisible. The complaint reports that some of the wipes showed “dark-brown spots on the surface and mildew-like odors emanating from their packaging” that should have alerted their maker, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, to the existence of a problem. The complaint alleges that the wipes were contaminated with a bacterial strain that caused urinary infections and other problems.
Cottonelle Wipes and Urinary Tract Infections ComplaintCase Event History
Cottonelle Wipes and Urinary Tract Infections Complaint
March 17, 2021
The complaint for this class action alleges that the bacterial contamination that found its way into certain lots of Cottonelle Wipes products was not invisible. The complaint reports that some of the wipes showed “dark-brown spots on the surface and mildew-like odors emanating from their packaging” that should have alerted their maker, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, to the existence of a problem. The complaint alleges that the wipes were contaminated with a bacterial strain that caused urinary infections and other problems.
Cottonelle Wipes and Urinary Tract Infections Complaint