In what has now become a recent trend, another bottle of Corona beer has exploded and injured a California man. John Jay Curtis, of Mission Viejo, California, was bringing a twenty four pack of Corona into his house on September 25 when he heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion of some kind. By the time he realized what happened, he was thrown to the ground, bleeding profusely, and in terrible pain.
He passed out from the pain and stayed unconscious for approximately twenty seconds. He remembers hearing the sound of the explosion, which he says sounded like “someone shot off a grenade” and then the pain. In an interview with The Post Curtis is quoted as saying, “All of a sudden, I’m in abject pain and thrown back on the ground. My right leg is all cut and bleeding profusely.”
Once he finally regained consciousness, he found himself unable to move. He began calling for his partner, who then came outside to help him. His partner got him on his feet and helped to get him into the house, where he began removing the shards of glass from the Corona bottle from Curtis’ leg. There were so many shards of glass that it took him over twenty minutes to remove them and even longer to stop the bleeding, which was intense. Little did Curtis and his partner know, however, that they had not successfully removed all of the shards.
A few days later, Curtis says that one of the many wounds “started festering and got red and started hurting.” He went to his family doctor who discovered that there was still a piece of glass remaining in his leg. “She numbed me up and took a scalpel and found a little shard of glass that was in there,” Curtis says. It was during this in-office procedure that Curtis learned he was not the first person to whom this happened. A nurse mentioned this to him, and he went home and did some of his own research.
He discovered that this has happened to quite a few other people from around the country. Others experienced similar incidents to the one Curtis experienced, only their experiences left them partially blind.
Curtis decided to follow up with the Corona company. He contacted both the brewer company of Corona, Constellation Brands Inc., which is located in upstate Victor, and also the bottle manufacturer, Owens-Illinois, which is incorporated in Delaware. Representatives from the companies told Curtis that they would inspect the remaining Corona bottles from the twenty four case Curtis originally purchased. At the time of The Post article, the companies had not followed through with this, however, and no recall on Corona products had been issued.
A spokesman for the Constellation company, Michael McGrew, issued the following statement in response to Curtis’ claim of injury: “We take any claims related to consumer safety, health and well-being seriously. I can say unequivocally that we conduct rigorous testing throughout our production process, and our bottles are designed and tested to maintain their integrity. We will investigate the matter and remain committed to ensuring that our products continue to meet our high quality standards.”
Despite McGrew’s words, Curtis is not satisfied. He plans on suing the company for his injuries and for recompense for his doctor’s bills.
If you or someone you know has had something similar happen and has been injured by a defective Corona product, contact an attorney at The Law Offices of Sadaka Associates for a free consultation.
