# Wal-Mart agrees to contribute $25 million to settle gas can explosion lawsuits



## Havana woody (Dec 12, 2013)

The nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has agreed to contribute about $25 million to settle unresolved lawsuits filed on behalf of consumers allegedly injured or killed in explosions involving portable plastic gas cans, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.

The money from Wal-Mart amounts to slightly more than 15 percent of a proposed $161 million fund that would settle dozens of lawsuits against the largest manufacturer of these cans, Blitz USA, records from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware show. A hearing on the proposed settlement is set for early next year.

The retail chain, the largest seller of plastic gas cans, sold tens of millions of Blitz gas cans. In agreeing to contribute toward the settlement, it does not acknowledge any safety defect in the Blitz cans.
Blitz, based in Miami, Okla., and formerly the nation's largest manufacturer of plastic gas cans, is now in bankruptcy and out of business, largely because of the lawsuits and previous payouts to victims of alleged gas can explosions.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101256842


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## Havana woody (Dec 12, 2013)

ITs FEKKIN GASOLINE
Its flammable,
It can not be made idiot proof.

The cans didn't cause the ignition opening and using them around ignition sources did.

The primary problem is that we have Dumbed down people to the point were common sense has been eroded by the myth that we live in federally regulated safety land.


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## hanniedog (Dec 12, 2013)

Wonder how many jobs were lost when that company went under? Frigging low life lawyers.


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## John R (Dec 12, 2013)

Ya just can't stupid


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## zogger (Dec 13, 2013)

What caused the cans to go primarily? Spilled gas, static electricity or what?


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## LarryRFL (Dec 13, 2013)

Throwing gas on fires, mostly.


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## zogger (Dec 13, 2013)

The link from the link says there are "flame arrestors" that could be incorporated into the cans. Cheap plastic part. Basically some sort of screen.

My small cans all have the old fashioned vent that you can pop open first. But I also keep them in the shade when using and storing, very rarely does a can get any direct sunlight on it.

I notice the canned fuel has a plastic screen like structure under the spout, perhaps for this reason.


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## Havana woody (Dec 13, 2013)

the flame arrest screen is just a patch on the real problem "stupidity" We have all done stuff that was unsafe and many have got away with it, but to blame the manufacture of the can is just wrong. Its like suing krispy creme for making you fat.


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## zogger (Dec 13, 2013)

Havana woody said:


> the flame arrest screen is just a patch on the real problem "stupidity" We have all done stuff that was unsafe and many have got away with it, but to blame the manufacture of the can is just wrong. Its like suing krispy creme for making you fat.




Oh, I am sure a lot of operator error is involved here, but..I haven't seen all the details of the dozens of lawsuits either. It could very well be something really weird like the exact plastic composition combined with certain atmospheric conditionsm, etc, get a static spark and poof o rama.

I am not going to internet quarterback this one. I will readily acknowledge that people can do some dumb stuff, but I haven't been convinced plastic gas cans of any type have been really safe either. I go way outta my way to keep those plastic cans cool and in the shade, I don't trust them once under heat and sunshine pressure. And if they-engineers "they", knew that adding a cheap part made them loads safer, and the company didn't do it anyway, well..I am not overly sympathetic with the gascan makers either. Indications are, they *did* know about adding that little cheap part.

And just on this site, dozens of guys have bitched about plastic gas cans, they spill easy or whatever, various reasons. Puncture easy, swell in the heat and pop, stuff like that.

I use mine, they are the old fashioned kind, but once they are no good, I am switching to a small metal outboard tank. Was gonna do that anyway, even before I read this.


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## John R (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks to the government you can't buy a good gas can anymore.


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## windthrown (Dec 13, 2013)

Havana woody said:


> ITs FEKKIN GASOLINE
> Its flammable,
> It can not be made idiot proof.
> 
> ...


 
What he said, in spades.

Now gas cans will cost $100 each because of liability, taxes, and some gov't program to label cans and train the stupids of the earth how to fill and store gas. I have a dozen Blitz cans of all types and I have had dozens more in metal and plastic. I have stored diesel, gas, mixed gas, and AvGas, and I have never ever had an issue with any of them, even when I used to use gas to light slash piles. I have had them bubble up in the heat, freeze in the ice, and I have never had a problem, ever. I mean, how stupid do you have to be?


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## jughead500 (Dec 14, 2013)

Wonder how much of the problem is caused by the epa spouts and non venting cans?


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## jughead500 (Dec 14, 2013)

Since the non venting cans have been enforced I've spilled more gas than I did with the old ones with the flippy vent and flex spout.The next Blitz cans with the rigid black spout and no flippy vent was a little worse.Those flammid cans with the lever spout was just impossible for me to get used to so I mixed and matched parts until I could use my old rigid spouts with the new cans.
The way I see it.I'm not a gas can scientist by any means but if the can doesnt vent it sucks the sides in.When it does happen to get a "Breath" of Air it seems to me that it would be more Likely to "Suck" up Flames and sparks both from Ignition sources and Static and electrical ignitions.


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## LegDeLimber (Dec 16, 2013)

the first one looks pretty much planned. 
The second one I think is a safe bet it's a genuine OH ****! moment.
Third one is just an excellent shot of the fumes catching the guy oblivious to what he had done.



and yes it annoys me to see the cost of a gasoline container now as a result of litigation.


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## Havana woody (Dec 16, 2013)




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## Canthook Coasty (Dec 24, 2013)

Sure beats using old milk jugs.


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## GrassGuerilla (Dec 24, 2013)

jughead500 said:


> *Since the non venting cans have been enforced I've spilled more gas than I did with the old ones with the flippy vent and flex spout.*The next Blitz cans with the rigid black spout and no flippy vent was a little worse.Those flammid cans with the lever spout was just impossible for me to get used to so I mixed and matched parts until I could use my old rigid spouts with the new cans.



Sing it brother.


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## LarryRFL (Dec 24, 2013)

According to the CEO of Blitz in an interview (I forget where it was, Fox News maybe) the spark arrestor the government wanted them to install would actually cause a spark and ignite the gas, especially in low humidity where static electricity builds quicker and more strongly. The government put them out of business, not the lawsuits.


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## chuckwood (Jan 4, 2014)

Havana woody said:


> The nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has agreed to contribute about $25 million to settle unresolved lawsuits filed on behalf of consumers allegedly injured or killed in explosions involving portable plastic gas cans, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
> http://www.cnbc.com/id/101256842



Many years ago, my next door neighbor decided to burn a big brush pile that had been left behind by a bankrupt contractor. I was sitting inside and hear a big "whomp" followed by some howling and yelling. I went outside to see what was going on and the poor guy was hosing himself down and his face and arms were red. I had some bags of ice in the freezer and I brought 'em over. He and his scared wife got in their car and roared off to the hospital with the ice, which I think helped quite a bit. The poor dude recovered in about a week or so and considered himself lucky, it could have been a lot worse. He was a plumber by trade, a blue collar guy, and should have known better. Why do people keep doing this?


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## hamish (Jan 4, 2014)

As Blitz was the largest producer in the US...........who makes your cans now?


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## jughead500 (Jan 4, 2014)

I think briggs and Stratton makes cans but according to what ivr saw at lowes the replacement s are septor brand from canada.bought a 5 gallon one last year and like it but no one I know is smart enough to operate the unlocking mechanism.2 replacement spouts later its still broke.


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## Hoowasat (Jan 5, 2014)

John R said:


> Thanks to the government you can't buy a good gas can anymore.


Likewise, the gas that goes in the cans ain't as good anymore either.


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## A10egress (Jan 6, 2014)

jughead500 said:


> Since the non venting cans have been enforced I've spilled more gas than I did with the old ones with the flippy vent and flex spout.The next Blitz cans with the rigid black spout and no flippy vent was a little worse



Yep... Ive spent hours looking at, over-engineering new spouts, vents, ect....


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## mechanizm (Jan 9, 2014)

anyone remember the "old ironsides" gas cans that walmart used to sell? i bought one from them in 1987 and still have it. like the saying says; they don't make them like they used to... those plastic gas can suck and YES they do swell-up in the sun and shrink in the cold. i don't trust those things...


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## fixit1960 (Apr 25, 2014)

hanniedog said:


> Wonder how many jobs were lost when that company went under? Frigging low life lawyers.


I agree the lawyers have some degree of culpability in these foolish lawsuits but most of the time it is the 12 jurors at fault for siding with the "victim" The entitlement mentality that allowed the 12 to agree that some big business being responsible for the dumbasses actions and then rewarding the stupid behavior by giving them a multi-million dollar settlement. I truly think this country needs serious tort reform in the court system.........


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## hamish (Apr 26, 2014)

fixit1960 said:


> I agree the lawyers have some degree of culpability in these foolish lawsuits but most of the time it is the 12 jurors at fault for siding with the "victim" The entitlement mentality that allowed the 12 to agree that some big business being responsible for the dumbasses actions and then rewarding the stupid behavior by giving them a multi-million dollar settlement. I truly think this country needs serious tort reform in the court system.........


Not the court system but perhaps the societal sense of entitlement.


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## Cycledude (Feb 29, 2016)

Very nice no spill gas cans
http://www.nospill.com


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## ChoppyChoppy (Feb 29, 2016)

The Blitz cans are 100x better than the **** they have now. Leave a new hippy can out in the sun and it swells up so bad it looks like that girl on Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Or in the cold and it collapses on itself. Nevermind that they flow about as fast as an 80yr old man with prostate trouble and spill all over the place.

I've never used gas from a jug to get a fire going. Diesel, engine oil, etc sure, but using gas is completely stupid.


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## Cycledude (Feb 29, 2016)

I have never used a Blitz can but I have used the No Spill cans and wow they do work very well


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## ChoppyChoppy (Feb 29, 2016)

The Blitz cans were normal cans with a good spout and a vent. Simple and worked fine. They went out of business in the early 2000s? I know it's been a while. I don't think any gas cans are made in the USA anymore, guess it's hard to sue the chinamen.


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## blades (Feb 29, 2016)

Havana woody said:


> the flame arrest screen is just a patch on the real problem "stupidity" We have all done stuff that was unsafe and many have got away with it, but to blame the manufacture of the can is just wrong. Its like suing krispy creme for making you fat.


I believe there is civil pending along those lines as be speak ( Krispy Creme)


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## lone wolf (Feb 29, 2016)

LarryRFL said:


> Throwing gas on fires, mostly.


People are definitely getting stupider over the decades! Keep gas away from ignition sources unless you want a fire! I think the suit is claiming there was no safety screen to stop the fire from going back in the can causing the explosion though.


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## TBS (Apr 17, 2016)

We have about 20 or 30 of these non venting cans at work and they all have busted nozzles, some are even cracked where the nozzles threads on the can and the others leak out from around the nozzle valve when filling mower tanks. You can buy old style nozzles for water cans at tractor supply that have color coded caps for different liquids yellow being fuel.


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