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A Walmart customer has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the retail giant’s Mainstay candles possess a serious defect that can cause them to explode or become engulfed in flames.
The Walmart Mainstays candle class action was filed by Shelby Ellebracht who says she purchased a Mainstays candle from a Walmart in Missouri in February 2018.
According to the customer, on Feb. 12, 2018, she lit the candle and burned it on her bathroom counter in a safe manner.
Allegedly, the candle began to burn with unusually high flames after being lit for under an hour, and soon exploded.
According to Ellebracht, she was physically injured by the candle. She says that her injuries were caused by a defect in the design or manufacturing in the candle.
Ellebracht states that Mainstays is a Walmart house brand, so she aims to hold Walmart accountable for her injuries. In her view, the company knew or should have known that the Mainstays candles were defective and could cause injuries, but sold them nonetheless. She asserts that Walmart put profits ahead of customer safety.
The Walmart class action lawsuit claims that when the candle burst into flames, the customer was using it safely. Ellebracht stresses that the candle was not touching anything other than the counter it was sitting on, nor were there any loose objects around the candle.
She says that there were not open windows or drafts in the bathroom, and that the faucet of the sink was neither running nor dripping. Because of this, Ellebracht argues that the problem she experienced with the candle was not caused by an environmental factor within her control.
The Walmart candle lawsuit goes on to state that Ellebracht had burned her candle for less than one hour — a safe amount of time — before it burned in an out-of-control, abnormal fashion.
She says that the candle became “engulfed” in flames that were not just coming from the wick, but seemed to come from the entire surface area of the wax.
Ellebracht recounts that quickly, the candle’s flames were tall enough that they blackened the ceiling with soot.
According to the Walmart class action lawsuit, she was worried that the candle would start a house fire, so she pushed the candle into the sink. It exploded into the sink, causing flaming wax to explode throughout the bathroom, the plaintiff says.
Going on to explain that Ellebracht was allegedly injured in the incident, the Mainstays candle class action lawsuit says that when the candle exploded, flaming wax hit Ellebracht. Allegedly, this caused her injuries in the form of a second degree burn on her right thigh.
The burn reportedly required initial medical treatment for the burn itself, and follow-up treatment from an infection that Ellebracht says was caused by the burn. The Walmart class action lawsuit claims that she incurred medical costs because of the burn, and lost time from work and school to recover.
She says the experienced permanent injury, in the form of scarring, and photosensitivity to the scar. This photosensitivity inconveniences her, she claims, forcing her to cover her leg, which interferes with some of her favorite activities, including swimming and boating.
Aside from physical injures, Ellebracht asserts that she has suffered financially from her purchase, in the form of medical bills, damage to her bathroom, lost wages, and the amount paid for the candle itself.
In filing the Walmart lawsuit, Ellebracht asks the court to award compensatory damages for her injuries, as well as any other damages the court sees fit. Ellebracht seeks damages not only for herself, but for all other customers who purchased the candles.
Even if other customers were not injured by the candles, she says that all customers who purchased the candles were financially injured by Walmart, because if they had known that the candle possessed a dangerous defect, they likely would not have purchased the candle or would not have paid as much for it.
To support the claim that other customers had similar experiences, the Walmart candle class action lawsuit asserts that multiple customers have contacted Walmart about issues they had with the Mainstays candles, including accounts much like Ellebracht’s.
Have you ever purchased a product that you believed possessed a dangerous defect? Share your experience in the comments below.
Ellebracht is represented by A. Scott Waddell of Waddell Law Firm LLC, Eric S. Playter and Chris R. Playter of Playter & Playter LLC, and Jack D. McInnes of McInnes Law LLC.
The Walmart Mainstays Candle Dangerous Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Shelby Ellebracht v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 4:20-cv-00361, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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913 thoughts onWalmart Class Action Lawsuit: Mainstay Candles Are Dangerous
Yes I have been Using these Candles Over 7 years or more . I to almost experienced a terrible incident, Upon arriving back into the kitchen I noticed the candle was burning Only On 1 side of the glass . And the glass became black really fast.
I also bought amamos tal candle from Walmart for my bathroom.l and it exploded and threw glass everywhere! The flames caught my flowers that were around my vanity mirror over the bathroom sink. It took so quickly that I feared for myself because I have a small bathroom and I was inside and the candle burst into flames, right by the exit door!!! I couldn’t get out and started yelling for my husband and fortunately , he was able to put the flames out, but not before we ended up with a big nasty mess!! Now I need to redo my sink area, lots of work to be done!!
I bought my first home at age 47 which was a huge accomplishment for me as a single mom of 6 children. I always buy candles to give my home a nice fragrance & usually I just pick them up from Walmart. They discontinued my favorite scent made by Better homes & Garden, so I started buying the Walmart store brand. I can’t tell you how devastated I was when one of the candles exploded on my kitchen counter leaving a huge burn mark on my kitchen counter. There is no way to cover it & I obviously can’t afford to buy a whole new countertop. Being compensated the cost of the candle (only if I still have it, which I don’t) is not nearly enough for the damage it did to my countertop. Extremely disappointed
In December of 2021 I purchased 2 holiday scented Mainstay candles that are in white round tins,each with a raffia type tie and artificial pine looking sprigs with red berries.I recently purchased a bunkhouse travel trailer and remodeled the inside,including new white paint throughout.I had recently parked my BH in October for myself and my grandaughters’ first enjoyment of downsized living.December had began and wanting a holiday feel after my Walmart purchase,I decided to set alight both candles.One was placed in the Queen bedroom and at the other end,in our bathroom.After about 30 minutes my grand daughter noticed that the flame was burning high and from the top of the flame there was black smoke omitting so much that she alerted me,as she laid reading on the Queen bed and that the walls looked grey.I put out the candles on both ends of the BH and to my dismay,there was smoke damage throughout.Every strut and beam can now be seen with this smoke damage along with the now Grey colored walls that cannot be wiped down because it only seems to create unsightly circular messes.Im assuming that the smoke might have an oil residue which must become a great concern due to oil bases being fllame potentiators and it also cannot be easily removed once it coats.My newly purchased curtains,shower curtain,all indoor windows and frames and much,much more have been permeated by a Grey color due to the smoke and strangely this is from floor levels to ceiling.The flame had began to burn at about 2 inches high and the dark smoke from the flame was wafting and squiggling upwards at about the height of 6 inches.None of my fire alarms were triggered and were also grey smoked and oil effected.I count my blessings greatly that a fire did not ensue,though in a small TT BH space with the damages throughout and after such a new remodel for our embarkment,this has been disheartening to see on a daily basis.Apon deciding to Google Mainstay holiday candle tins and smoke…this site was the 1st engine regarding these very dangerous situations.TY J (open for any emails)
I purchased a Mainstays Campfire Snow 14 oz candle in Durham, NC a few days before Christmas. The flame grew out of control on my kitchen table, the entire candle was engulfed in flames and I could not blow it out. The smoke alarm went off. I threw a cup of water on the candle, hot wax flew every where, including onto my face which suffered burns. I would like to join the class action case and/or be contacted by a lawyer.
Today, I burned two Mainstay Alpine Forest candles for several hours and I didn’t experienced any problems different than most other candles I burn. The flames in them does burn high and the glass container gets pretty hot as well. I attribute that to the wax used to make them, the three wicks in the candle and the length of time I have had them burning, over 4 hours straight. I didn’t have a problem blowing them out or with them cooling down quickly afterwards. I’m not saying others have not experienced issues with the product they used, only that I haven’t ever had issues with MainStay Candles at anytime over the past eight years. My prayers to any and everyone that suffered because of the product.
On 11:17/2022, Used these tea light candles while trying to relax in the bath after a long day.
Placed the tealight on flat surface of the window seal, the window was not open.
30-45 min into the bath, the tealight flame became very large and could not be blown out.
My initial reactions was to push the tealight candle into the bath tub to avoid the flame catching onto the blinds.
As soon as my left hand hit the flame, my hand was ignited in flames causes 1st and 2nd degree burns covering the front and back of my hand.
Traumatized and will never light a tealight in my house again.
I bought a mainstays candle 3 days ago ..today is Oct 2 2022, they are most definitely making them wrong , and dangerous. My candle had high flames…but I thought it would settle once burned a little…when I came back to my bedroom ,the whole out side plastic label, was melted on to my dresser…horrible and my ceiling was stained from black smoke . I have twin toddler s and live alone, if the candle would of started a fire I don’t know what would have happened…Lord blessed us, by me catching it on time. Something needs done about this. I am in search for lawyer now. ANY SUGGESTIONS? Please email me
Mine too exploded yesterday – very dangerous !
I literally just had one blow up/explode in my kitchen the fire went all up my cabinets and wax is everywhere
I had a mainstay candle blow up in my living room. My husband caught it on video. I have burn marks on my face!! When it exploded it was as if it was a sparkler if you even moved the candle or tried to pour water on it. It was a lose lose. The flames were going up my wall by our tv in our living room. Our son was home alone in the bathroom. Had we not gotten home when we did, the flames were so relentless, I my son would have been blocked by flames. I am thankful to God for ensuring we had not walked in just 30 seconds later. Because 30 seconds later my home would have been gone, possibly our precious son, pets and possessions. We now have fire damage on and in the wall, tv cabinet, 75” tv melted on the side, wax all over our newly installed flooring, our new area rug valued at $2k ruined by soot and wax.
I will not stop here. Something should be done. This can drastically alter someone’s life if not end it. Someone should be held responsible for this.