Wisconsin residents know that it is very difficult to pull yourself out of bed in the morning. This is especially true in the middle of the dark winter. Luckily, there is coffee. When the smell of a strong brew fills our homes with bold aromatic spices, we are able to get pumping and ready for work in the morning.

However, coffee lovers beware: A recent story reports that more than a million popular coffee makers have been recalled after dozens of reports of product failures. The brewers are spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto people.

Sources say that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has reported 140 cases of the Tassimo single-cup brewers spraying people. Thirty-seven of these cases resulted in second-degree burns.

In one incident, a 10-year-old girl was hospitalized with burns to her face. CPSC explains that the coffee maker has a plastic disc that holds the coffee or tea, and this can explode while brewing. The agency announced the recall of four million packages of Tassimo espresso plastic disks. Furthermore, approximately 835,000 coffee makers are being recalled in the United States and 900,000 in Canada.

The coffee recall was undoubtedly prompted by a series of injuries that were sustained by consumers of the product. Dangerous, poorly labeled or improperly made products can result in serious and permanent injuries that impair the rest of one's life. If a person is injured by a dangerous product, he or she may have a potential products liability suit against those responsible for the defective item.

Under products liability law, various players in the distribution chain can be held responsible for a dangerous, defective or poorly labeled product. This includes the product manufacturer, wholesaler or store that sold the product. In the context of this case, the injured consumers could initiate a products liability suit against any of the coffee maker distributors.

If you have been harmed by a defective product, you may want to speak to an attorney about your various recovery possibilities. Products liability law can be complex, so you need a knowledgeable person by your side.

Source: Chicago Tribune, "Tassimo coffee makers recalled over burn risk," Jennifer C. Kerr, Feb. 19, 2012