A.O. Smith Gets $10.7M Fatal Child Scalding Verdict Reversed

A jury didn’t have all the relevant evidence when it awarded $10.7 million against American Water Heater Co. in the death of a toddler severely scalded in a bath, an Illinois appeals court ruled.

The Dec. 7 unpublished ruling rejected claims by the mother of Mikayla King that the evidence was properly excluded as irrelevant to strict liability design defect claims against the Milwaukee, Wis.-based company.

A.O. Smith should have been allowed to presentthe instruction manual and labels that came with its water heater. They recommended the installation of an anti-scald device on the water line.

The trial judge also ...