A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed  over the the flammable  chenille bathrobes recently recalled by Blair LLC.

In April 2009, Blair recalled 162,000 Chenille Robes manufactured by A-One Textile & Towel, of Karachi, Pakistan, after it learned of three robes catching on fire, including one report of second degree burns. Blair then received several reports of deaths allegedly due to robes catching fire. This prompted a second news release in June 2009 to again alert consumers to the burn hazard for the chenille robes.

After this re-announcement, Blair received four additional reports of deaths allegedly due to the robes catching fire. Three of these victims were cooking and a fourth was tending a pellet stove; three of the four victims were in their 80s and one was in her 70s. According to the CPSC, all nine reported deaths occurred prior to the April 2009 announcement of the recall.

Blair also received one report involving one of the additional chenille garments included in the expanded recall catching fire; no injuries have been reported related to these garments. Because of this report, Blair decided this week to expand the recall to include all women’s chenille wearing apparel manufactured by A-One Textile & Towel. The expanded recall included an additional 138,000 units.

Atwilda Brown, 80, was one those who died after one of the Blair chenille robes caught fire.  According to her family’s lawsuit, Brown, was making her nightly cup of tea in her Connecticut home on Feb. 12, 2005, when the chenille robe she purchased three weeks earlier caught fire.  She died two weeks later from her burns.

In a written statement released this week, Brown’s daughter, Sharon Davis, said she hoped the lawsuit would raise awareness about the deadly chenille robes.

Brown’s family is seeking $30 million.  Their lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut.