Vinyl covers for motorized awnings help aesthetics while extending the life of the awning. But one helped end the life of a human and injured six others, causing SunSetter to recall 281,000 in the United States and Canada.
The exact problem, as stated in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice: "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."
And SunSetter admits to hearing of 14 such incidents, six of which involved injuries.
"In one reported incident," the notice says, "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."
Sunsetter is offering breakaway safety clips to replace the bungee tie-downs with instructions on their installation and removal of the bungee tie-downs.
Customers should contact SunSetter at 844-313-0144 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern time or email safety-clips@sunsetter.com.
