Petzl Shunt May Detach from Rope During Climbing, Says Class Action

Craig Faulhaber was climbing in Haus Rock in Summit County, Colorado when his rope detached from his Petzl Shunt during a fall, claims the complaint for this class action. Faulhaber fell to the ground and was severely injured. The complaint alleges that the Shunt, made by Petzl America, Inc., does not work as advertised, and that Petzl has not adequately warned the public or recalled the device.

At the time of the accident, Faulhaber, an experienced rock climber, was “‘soloing’ utilizing a top rope method. This means that [Faulhaber] did not have another person to belay himself, instead, he relied upon the Shunt for this purpose.”

When Faulhaber fell, the complaint alleges, he “fractured approximately 12 bones including the L1 and L2 vertebrae in his back, both heels, his pelvis, knee, right elbow, sacrum, and ribs.” He is currently in a wheelchair, “unable to live freely outside of an ADA accessible hotel room.”

After the accident, Faulhaber contacted Petzl about the Shunt. He says he had an email exchange and telephone call with its Chief Operating officer, who, the complaint alleges, “was opaque about the Shunt’s testing, known use, and deficiencies … otherwise being dismissive of Faulhaber’s request for a prominent and unambiguous warning or a re-design of the Shunt.”

Furthermore, “Faulhaber advised Petzl’s Chief Operating Officer that the climbing community believes that a stopper knot is a viable backup to the Petzl Shunt while rope soloing, which Faulhaber knows today that it is not…”

Faulhaber also claims to have found a study Petzl never warned climbers about, discussing the possibility that the Shunt might release the rope during climbing. The complaint quotes it as saying that “if the Shunt is loaded when it is only a short distance above a knot on the rope, it will be prevented from slipping by the knot and high forces could be achieved. This situation is possible in rope access, and could result in the Shunt releasing the rope at forces as low as 4 kN…”

Despite all this, the complaint alleges that “Petzl has done nothing to protect or warn climbers like Craig Faulhaber.”

Just twenty days after his call with Petzl, the complaint alleges, another experienced climber, Trevor Stuart, was seriously injured while using a Shunt. The complaint alleges, “Stuart’s Petzl Shunt also failed[,] allowing his safety rope to unexpectedly detach from the Shunt[,] causing the climber to fall from 60 feet above the ground[,] causing life-threatening injuries…”

The complaint alleges that this accident might have been prevented had Petzl issued a timely warning or recall of the Shunt. According to the complaint, Petzl has still not redesigned or recalled the device and has not warned customers about it.

The counts include strict product liability—failure to reasonably warn, negligence, and fraudulent concealment, among other things. The complaint does not specifically define the proposed class or class period.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Climbing Gear, Defective Product, Sports