(WTHR) – Motorized awning covers distributed by SunSetter and Costco Wholesale are being recalled after a 73-year-old man died when one operated unexpectedly, knocking him off of a ladder.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall for Vinyl SunSetter Motorized Awnings on Aug. 13 after receiving 14 reports of incidents, including one report of a death and six reports of injuries.
The recall includes about 270,000 all vinyl units used with SunSetter® Motorized, Motorized XL, Motorized PRO, Motorized PROXL, and Oasis Freestanding Motorized Retractable Awnings.
The affected products were distributed by SunSetter and Costco Wholesale from June 1999 to January 2019 and were supplied with bungee tie-downs.
According to the reports made to CPSC, a 73-year-old man died after falling from a ladder and over a balcony when a motorized awning opened unexpectedly and struck him while he was removing the cover’s bungee tie-downs.
The recall states that, "if a powered awning is activated while the cover is secured with bungee tie-downs, when the cover is removed, the awning can open unexpectedly with enough force to strike a consumer standing in the awning’s path, causing them to fall and suffer death or serious injury."
Anyone with the covers are being advised not to attempt to install or remove motorized awnings until receiving instructions from SunSetter. Consumers should contact the business for free breakaway safety clips to replace the bungee tie-downs along with instructions for the clips and how to safely remove any installed tie-downs.
Anyone with questions should contact SunSetter toll-free at 844-313-0144 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET daily, online at www.sunsetter.com/safety-clips, or by email at safety-clips@sunsetter.com.
