July 2, 2023
Court Dismisses Lawsuit against Amazon re ‘suicide kits’ for Teenagers
SEATTLE, Washington: US District Judge James Robart in Seattle has dismissed a lawsuit against Amazon.com, which was brought by the parents of two teenagers who committed suicide by consuming sodium nitrite bought through the online retailer’s platform.
In a 34-page decision, Robart rejected claims that Amazon was liable for negligence and violating
Washington state product liability laws, which was brought by the parents of Ethan McCarthy and Kristine Jonsson.
Seeking unspecified damages from Seattle-based Amazon, the parents claimed that Amazon allowed an outside vendor to sell sodium nitrite at 99.6 percent purity, labeled “suicide kits,” to their children.
Police found Jonsson, 16, of Hilliard, Ohio, dead in her mother’s car in 2020 while McCarthy, 17, of Milton, West Virginia, died in his bed the following January.
The product label for the sodium nitrite identified the dangers of using the chemical, which is sometimes used in cured meats, Robart said, adding that Amazon had no duty to provide additional warnings.
“Kristine and Ethan’s fates were undisputedly tragic, but the court can only conclude that they necessarily knew the dangers of bodily injury and death associated with ingesting sodium nitrite,” the judge wrote.
In a statement this week, Carrie Goldberg, lawyer for the parents, said the decision was a “setback” but “hardly the end of the road” for the case.
“There are no household uses for sodium nitrite and no consumer, let alone children, could reasonably know how lethal it was. In Washington State it is against the law to aid in suicide and that’s exactly what Amazon did,” she said.
