The Washington State Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Amazon.com can face lawsuits brought by families with relatives who took their own lives by consuming sodium nitrite purchased on the online retailer’s platform.
The ruling rejected a lower court’s ruling that the families could not bring negligence claims under Washington State’s product liability law because suicide was the primary cause of their relatives’ deaths.
Four families accused Amazon of promoting the sale of sodium nitrite on its website, along with other products that could help people commit suicide.
They said the Seattle-based retailer had known for years about the link between sodium nitrite and suicide but continued to sell the product without restrictions.
Amazon and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
* Reproduction of this content is prohibited
