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Martha Stewart & Kmart Sued by Hand Model Over Defective Product

Posted on Dec 22, 2008

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Kmart Corp. are being sued by Patrick Albanese after he was injured from a Martha Stewart-branded lounge chair. According to Albanese, the lounge chair was responsible for injuring his hand and impacting his livelihood.

The lawsuit was filed last month stating that Albanese was moving the Martha Stewart Everyday lounge chair on a deck in June when the front legs collapsed, which crushed his right index finger between one of the chair legs and a tubular bar on the base of the chair. As a result, his fingertip was severed and fell beneath the deck. The fingertip was later retrieved by a relative. Albanese’s attorney, Guy Cook, stated that a surgeon was able to reattach the fingertip.

Albanese, a resident of the Des Moines suburb of Clive, is pursuing monetary damages for past and future medical expenses, physical and mental pain and suffering, permanent partial disfigurement and loss of earning capacity. His lawsuit was been filed in Polk County District Court. He is claiming that Kmart and Martha Stewart Living displayed negligence by failing to issue a warning that the lounge chair was defective, for failing to inspect the lounge chair and failure to properly design the lounge chair. Albanese’s lawsuit also alleges that the lounge chair was a defective product and therefore not sellable.

Representatives from Kmart and Martha Stewart Living would not comment on the lawsuit.

Cook said that although the injury has not ended Albanese’s career as a hand model, it has impacted it while he has been recovering. Albanese also works as a magician and the injury has had a bigger impact on that occupation. According to Cook, Albanese has served as the master of ceremonies for Hollywood’s Magic Castle for 15 years and has lost some function in his fingertip.

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