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LOS ANGELES — Two Los Angeles residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz USA after they allegedly sustained burns to the upper back or shoulders due to a metallic “AMG” logo displayed on some Mercedes models’ front seats.
Los Angeles resident Gabriel Lahijani and Chatsworth resident Karendeep “Karina” Bath filed the lawsuit on Aug. 5 in federal court in the Central District of California. Lahijani was treated for a second-degree burn earlier this year after he sat down in the driver’s seat of his Mercedes-AMG vehicle, which had been parked in the sun. Urgent-care center staff later advised him about wound care, including the possibility of discoloration and scarring.
Bath found a mark on her skin in the shape of the AMG logo in July after her shoulder made contact with the metallic logo, though she did not initially recognize the injury as a burn, according to the lawsuit.
“When an affected vehicle is parked in the California sun – an ordinary and foreseeable condition – the badge can become hot enough to cause a thermal burn upon brief contact with exposed skin,” the complaint states. “No adequate warning of this hazard appears on the badge, or in the vehicle documentation provided to plaintiffs.”
A spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz USA said the company was aware of the claim.
“We will continue to evaluate this matter as more information becomes available,” she told the Southern California Record in an email. “At this time, we do not have additional comment on the lawsuit.”
The plaintiffs allege liability claims, including a defective logo design and a failure to warn consumers of thermal dangers; negligence; a breach of warranty under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act; and violations of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law.
The lawsuit also seeks a court order certifying the class, which includes consumers who purchased or leased Mercedes-AMG cars displaying the metallic AMG logo on the driver’s and front-passenger’s seats during the four years prior to the case’s filing.
The plaintiffs are also calling for no-cost repairs of the allegedly defective logo, company notification of all the affected Mercedes-AMG customers about the hazard and the provision of warnings until all the hazards can be corrected.
According to the lawsuit, plaintiff attorneys are asking the court for a jury trial and are seeking compensatory damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering , emotional distress and disfigurement.
Mercedes-Benz USA had options available that could have avoided burn injuries to customers, according to the complaint
“Feasible alternatives existed and exist, including a visually comparable heat-resistant polymer emblem, a leather- or fabric-covered embossed design, a thermally insulated composite, an effective insulating or protective surface or placement outside the reasonably foreseeable occupant-contact area,” the lawsuit states.
Mercedes-Benz USA and its German parent company, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, have been the targets of other recent civil lawsuits. Last year, the company agreed to pay a $149.6 million settlement to end litigation involving emissions-control software devices on certain cars and vans. The devices allegedly optimized emissions restrictions during testing but eased the restrictions during the vehicles’ normal driving activities.
