Sunbeam Lacks Grounds for New Trial on Heater Accident Claims

A $1.1 million jury verdict for a woman who allegedly sustained serious burns after fainting and falling onto a Sunbeam Products Inc. space heater will remain in place after a federal court in Texas denied the company’s request for judgment in its favor or a new trial.

There was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s conclusions that a design defect existed and caused Debra Nelson’s injuries, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III said Jan. 7 for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

And neither a video on skin grafting nor the instructions provided to the jury constituted ...