Michigan Tabletop Fire Pit Burn Injury Lawyer

A small decorative fire pit on a patio table should not send anyone to a burn unit. But over the past several years, alcohol-fueled and so-called “smokeless” tabletop fire pits have caused severe — and in some cases fatal — burn injuries across Michigan. Ethanol and isopropyl fuels behave in ways most consumers never expect. A nearly invisible flame can keep burning after a user assumes it has gone out. Pouring fuel onto embers can trigger flame-jetting that shoots a stream of fire several feet in any direction. A plastic bottle of isopropyl sitting beside the unit can flash or rupture when vapors ignite.

If you or a family member suffered a serious fire pit burn injury from one of these products in Michigan, you may have a claim against the manufacturer, the distributor, the retailer who sold it, or the online marketplace that listed it. At Neumann Law Group, we handle Michigan product liability and catastrophic burn injury cases from our offices in Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Detroit. This page explains how these injuries happen, who can be held responsible under Michigan law, and what steps you should take now to protect a potential claim.

What makes tabletop fire pits so dangerous?

The products at issue are compact, decorative units — usually marketed as stylish centerpieces for dining tables, patios, and indoor spaces. Most rely on liquid ethanol, bioethanol, gel fuel, or ordinary bottles of isopropyl alcohol. They are often sold without flame arrestors, without flame indicators that tell the user a fire is still burning, and without adequate warnings explaining how alcohol fuels actually behave.

Three hazards come up repeatedly in these cases. Flame-jetting occurs when a user pours fuel from a bottle into a burner that still has an active flame or residual heat — vapor inside the bottle ignites and propels a jet of fire toward the user and anyone nearby. Flashback fires happen when ignited vapors travel back up a fuel stream into the bottle itself, sometimes causing the container to rupture or explode. Invisible flames are a particular hazard of ethanol: unlike a wood or propane fire, an ethanol flame in daylight can be nearly colorless, leading users to believe the unit is out when it is still burning.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has overseen multiple recalls of tabletop fire pits, including Colsen tabletop ethanol fire pits sold through Amazon and other retailers, Five Below–branded tabletop fire pits, and the Bondi Bay / Vault Decor tabletop ethanol fire pit line — the latter expanded by CPSC in 2025. Specific recall numbers, unit counts, and retailer information for each action are published on cpsc.gov/Recalls; we link to the operative CPSC notice for any client whose unit is involved in an active recall. Amazon has separately issued safety-notice emails to purchasers of certain tabletop fire pit models. Despite these recalls and warnings, many of the affected products remain in homes across Michigan.

What kinds of injuries do these products cause?

The injuries we see are not minor. Alcohol-fueled flame-jetting typically produces partial-thickness and full-thickness burns across the face, chest, arms, and hands. Clothing soaked with ignited fuel causes deep, circumferential burns that frequently require skin grafting. Inhalation injuries occur when victims breathe in superheated air or fuel vapors during the flame event.

Common outcomes in tabletop fire pit cases include third-degree burns requiring debridement and grafting, extended stays in specialized burn units, permanent scarring and disfigurement, loss of function in hands and fingers, inhalation injuries, infection, and in the most severe cases, death. Children and bystanders are often the victims, not the person who lit the device.

These injuries carry medical costs that frequently climb into the high six figures or more, plus lifetime care needs, reconstructive surgery, and — for survivors — significant loss of earning capacity. Actual costs vary substantially by injury severity, length of hospitalization, and long-term care requirements. Michigan law allows recovery of both economic losses (medical bills, lost wages, future care) and non-economic losses (pain, suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life) in a properly brought product liability case.

Who can be held liable for a defective tabletop fire pit?

In a Michigan tabletop fire pit case, four categories of defendants are typically considered: (1) the manufacturer or designer of the unit; (2) the importer or distributor that brought it into the U.S. market; (3) the retailer or seller that placed it in the consumer’s hands; and (4) the online marketplace, where the platform’s role rises above pure listing. Michigan’s principal product-liability statute, MCL 600.2946, governs how these claims are evaluated.

Manufacturers and importers

The company that designed and built the fire pit bears primary responsibility for defects in design — for example, a burner that permits flame-jetting when refueled, or a product that lacks a flame arrestor that was technologically and economically feasible at the time of sale. Under Michigan law, a manufacturer can be held liable if the product was not reasonably safe at the time it left its control and a practical, feasible alternative design would have prevented the injury. Many of the manufacturers of these devices are overseas, but that does not automatically shield them from a Michigan lawsuit — importers and domestic distributors can be named alongside them.

Retailers and sellers

Big-box chains, specialty retailers, and discount stores that sold the product are potential defendants, particularly where the retailer knew or should have known about the hazard and continued selling the product. Michigan’s seller-liability rules under MCL 600.2947 generally limit non-manufacturing sellers’ exposure, but there are statutory exceptions — including where the seller failed to exercise reasonable care, where the manufacturer is insolvent or cannot be brought before a Michigan court, and where the seller made an independent representation about the product’s safety.

Online marketplaces

Online-marketplace liability in Michigan is unsettled. Courts in other jurisdictions (notably California’s Bolger v. Amazon and Pennsylvania’s Oberdorf v. Amazon line) have treated platforms as “sellers” under certain circumstances, but Michigan has no published controlling authority squarely on point. Whether Amazon or another marketplace can be held liable here generally depends on whether it controlled the listing, processed payment, fulfilled the order through its own warehouses (Fulfilled by Amazon), and had notice of the hazard. We assess each transaction on its facts.

What does Michigan product liability law require me to prove?

To recover in a Michigan product liability claim for a fire pit burn injury, you generally need to show three things: the product was defective (in design, manufacture, or warnings), the defect existed when the product left the defendant’s control, and the defect caused your injury. The core statute is MCL 600.2946, which governs how defects are evaluated and what evidence is admissible.

Design defect claims challenge the way the product was engineered. In a tabletop fire pit case, a design defect might be the absence of a flame arrestor, a burner geometry that invites flame-jetting, a fuel reservoir that vents vapors near the ignition source, or the use of an open-top ethanol burner in a product marketed for household use. The question is whether a feasible, safer alternative existed and whether a reasonable manufacturer would have adopted it.

Failure to warn claims focus on what the product told the user — or failed to tell them. Many tabletop fire pit injuries happen because the product did not clearly warn users never to add fuel to a burning or recently extinguished unit, did not warn about invisible ethanol flames, or did not explain the flame-jetting risk in terms a reasonable consumer would understand. Warnings buried in fine print, in a foreign language, or only on a box that is discarded at purchase frequently fall short of what Michigan law requires.

Manufacturing defect claims arise when a specific unit left the factory in a condition that did not match the intended design — for instance, a defective valve or a cracked burner housing on the individual product that caused the injury.

Michigan also recognizes claims for breach of express and implied warranties under the Uniform Commercial Code, which can run in parallel with a product liability claim and sometimes reach defendants a strict product liability claim does not.

How long do I have to file a Michigan product liability claim?

Michigan’s general statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including product liability, is three years from the date of injury under MCL 600.5805. Miss that deadline and your claim is almost certainly gone — no matter how strong the underlying case.

There are wrinkles that matter. Michigan also has a statute-of-repose framework that can affect product liability claims against manufacturers, with carve-outs and exceptions that depend on the product, the type of claim, and the parties (MCL 600.5839 governs improvements to real property; consumer-product claims are governed primarily by the limitations period in MCL 600.5805). For a consumer tabletop fire pit, the operative deadline is most often the three-year limitations period from injury — but a complete answer requires reviewing the specific product, the manufacturer’s identity, and any contractual or warranty provisions. If the injury caused death, a wrongful death claim must be brought by the personal representative of the estate under MCL 600.2922, and the timing rules interact with the underlying product-liability limitations period in ways that deserve attorney review.

Do not wait to call an attorney. Fire pit units, fuel bottles, packaging, receipts, and photographs of the injury all become critical evidence, and they have a way of disappearing fast.

What should I do right now if I was hurt by a tabletop fire pit?

The first priority is always medical care. Burn injuries need immediate, specialized treatment, and under-treatment in the first hours can have lifelong consequences.

Once you or your family member is stable, a few practical steps protect a potential claim. Preserve the device, the fuel, and all packaging. Do not throw anything out. Store it in a cool, dry place and photograph it from multiple angles. Keep every receipt, order confirmation, and shipping record — these establish the chain of sale, which is essential for product liability claims. Save the box, the instructions, and any warnings that came with the product. Photograph the injuries at each stage of treatment, not just the first day. Write down exactly what happened as soon as you are able — what you were doing, what the device was doing, who was present, what the fuel container looked like.

And do not talk to the manufacturer, the retailer, or any insurance adjuster until you have spoken with a lawyer. Early recorded statements are routinely used to minimize or defeat claims that would otherwise be strong.

How does a Michigan fire pit burn injury case differ from a typical personal injury case?

Burn cases are medically complex in ways that drive case value and strategy. Skin grafting, reconstructive surgery, and long-term rehabilitation often continue for years after the initial injury, which means the full economic and non-economic damages cannot be calculated on a simple pre-settlement timeline. Scarring and disfigurement, especially visible scarring on the face, neck, and hands, are compensable under Michigan law as permanent injuries, and proving their impact on the victim’s daily life requires detailed testimony from treating physicians, rehabilitation specialists, and sometimes mental health professionals.

Products cases also tend to involve expert-intensive proof — fire investigators, combustion engineers, warning-label experts, and human-factors specialists. Our team coordinates with these experts early and builds the evidentiary record needed to hold manufacturers and retailers accountable at trial if a reasonable settlement cannot be reached.

These cases sit within our broader Michigan product liability and catastrophic injury practice, which we coordinate with our work on wrongful death claims in cases involving fatalities and with our defective-product investigations across multiple consumer product categories.

Talk to a Michigan fire pit burn injury lawyer today

If you or a family member has been seriously burned by an alcohol-fueled, ethanol, gel-fuel, or “smokeless” tabletop fire pit in Michigan, call Neumann Law Group at (800) 525-6386 for a free consultation. We have attorneys in Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, and we handle catastrophic burn and product liability matters across the state on a contingency-fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Evidence in these cases disappears quickly. The sooner we can start preserving the fire pit, the fuel, and the documentation, the stronger your claim will be.

Frequently asked questions about tabletop fire pit burn injuries

Q: My tabletop fire pit was recalled. Does that mean I automatically win my case?

A: No, but a recall is strong evidence that the product was dangerous and that the manufacturer or seller knew it. You still have to prove that the defect caused your injury and that you suffered damages under Michigan law. A recall also affects what the manufacturer and retailer knew, which matters for punitive and enhanced damages arguments.

Q: I bought the fire pit on Amazon. Can I sue Amazon?

A: Possibly. Whether an online marketplace can be held liable in Michigan depends on how the transaction was structured — who controlled the listing, who handled payment, whether Amazon fulfilled and shipped the product through its own warehouses, and other factors. This is an active and evolving area of product liability law, and it is worth having an attorney evaluate the specific facts of your purchase.

Q: How long do I have to sue for a fire pit burn injury from a defective product in Michigan?

A: Generally three years from the date of injury under MCL 600.5805. If the injury resulted in death, a separate wrongful death framework applies under MCL 600.2922. Other deadlines can shorten this window — notice requirements, statutes of repose, and contractual limitations are all possible, which is why early consultation matters.

Q: The fire pit exploded and someone in my family died. What kind of claim is that?

A: A fatal tabletop fire pit incident is typically brought as a combined product liability and wrongful death claim. The personal representative of the estate files the claim under MCL 600.2922, and recoverable damages can include the deceased’s pain and suffering before death, medical and funeral expenses, and the family’s loss of financial support and companionship.

Q: What if I was using the fire pit in a way the manufacturer says I shouldn’t have?

A: Michigan recognizes modified comparative fault under MCL 600.2959. Your recovery is reduced in proportion to your share of fault, but if your fault exceeds 50%, you cannot recover non-economic damages (pain, suffering, disfigurement); economic damages remain available on a pro-rata basis. How the product was marketed and what warnings it carried weigh heavily in fault allocation, and many fire pit injuries occur during precisely the kind of use a reasonable manufacturer should have anticipated — refueling a warm unit, using it indoors, using it near flammable items on a dinner table.

Q: I still have the fire pit. What should I do with it?

A: Keep it. Do not destroy, clean, disassemble, or return it. Photograph it where it is, and then store it somewhere secure and out of reach of children. The unit itself is often the most important piece of physical evidence in the case, and once it is gone it cannot be replaced. If the manufacturer or retailer asks you to return the product for a refund or replacement, do not do so until you have spoken with an attorney.