The night the lights went out on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome will go down in history as the night the Super Bowl went dark. For 34 minutes, one of the most watched sporting events in the nation was held hostage by a darkened field. Players on both sides tried to stay warm while Entergy New Orleans scrambled to get the lights back on. It is being reported that a defective product may be the source of the outage.
Entergy officials have ascertained that a defective switchgear was the source of the blackout. The switchgear controls the electrical flow from the power company to the stadium. S&C Electric Co., the manufacturer of the switch, has offered an alternative theory that the equipment was operated improperly during the super bowl. S&C believes that the electrical load exceeded the trip setting for the switchgear. A preliminary investigation points to the relay equipment as the source of the problem. Stadium officials are working diligently to repair the problem.
The Super Bowl blackout cost time and money but no injuries occurred. This is not always the case with defective products. Manufacturers have a duty to design and produce products that are safe when used as directed. If a citizen is seriously injured by a product, it may be possible to recover compensation to atone for the loss.
An experienced product liability attorney can provide the skill needed to litigate these types of complex cases. The first step to recovery requires that the injured have their case assessed by a qualified attorney.
Source: www.nola.com, “Relay equipment manufacturer blames Entergy for Super Bowl blackout,” Richard Thompson, 02-08-2013
