Alibaba sued over man’s death due to fire caused by printer

Alibaba Holding Ltd has been sued by San Francisco parents who lost their son when the 3D printer which was purchased online through the website, caught fire. 

Calvin Yu’s parents blame Alibaba for selling a defective faulty printer online. They are also pursuing a lawsuit against the manufacturer of printer, Tronxy Technology Co.

Amazon.com has also faced a dozen product-liability claims in recent years for selling products that have harmed customers in some way. In September, Amazon issued a new policy which would pay customers for injury or property claims of less than $1,000 and in some cases more than that. The company has, however, argued in court that it is not liable to pay compensation.

Yu had purchased the printer from AliExpress in November 2019 for use at home, Bloomberg reported. According to lawsuit filed by the parents, fire investigators “concluded that the fire was caused by the above-mentioned 3D printer, overheating and igniting the couch”. The fire caused the death of Calvin Yu.