Wife was burnt by a smoke bomb at a wedding. Has potential scarring and burns over her hands, arms, shoulder, and face.

Question

My wife and I were at a wedding and during the reception we were handed bubbles and a smoke grenade thing. The wedding planner assistants told us to pull the pin and hold it out from us. It was dark outside, around 11:00pm. When my wife pulled the pin, the smoke started but then after about 15 seconds the smoke bomb blew up in her hand, burning her hand, arm, shoulder, neck, and face. My wife spends a lot of money maintaining healthy skin especially on her face. Theres potential scarring and pain from the burns. She was the maid of honor and the reception was at the brides mom's home. She doesn't want to upset the brides family, but would this be something we could sue the wedding planners? After I got home I looked up that style of smoke bombs online and they state you're suppose to pull the pin then immediately throw the bomb away from you. They never told us that and with it being dark, we couldn't read any labels, we just went off of the wedding planners quick instructions.

Tim Akpinar · Answer

A Missouri attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for over a week. I'm sorry about the accident. I hope your wife is okay. You mention not wanting to upset the bride's family. If a claim is initiated, there is no controlling the direction it takes, in terms of one party dragging in others in related claims (for instance, the bride's family). If you were able to arrange a consult with a local attorney, they might be able to advise more definitively, but in terms of predicting the trajectory a case could take, all bets are off. Good luck

Stephen Murray · Answer

This situation sounds painful and frustrating, especially since it happened while trying to enjoy a wedding. The key thing here is that the wedding planner or their assistants gave instructions that may not have been correct or safe, which led to your wife's injuries. If those instructions didn’t align with the product’s safety guidelines—like needing to throw the smoke bomb away immediately—there could be grounds for legal action based on negligence. 
 
In Missouri, negligence claims typically focus on whether the responsible party (in this case, potentially the wedding planners) failed to act with reasonable care, and if that failure caused injury. If they gave out unsafe instructions for using the smoke bomb, they might be liable for your wife’s burns and potential scarring. Plus, if the wedding planners provided the smoke bombs, they might have some responsibility for ensuring the products were used correctly and safely. 
 
While your wife understandably doesn’t want to upset the bride’s family, a claim wouldn’t necessarily need to target the family—especially if the wedding planner or their business had some role in what happened. It might be worth exploring whether their business has insurance that covers injuries from the event. Medical expenses, pain and suffering, and potential scarring could all be part of the damages in a case like this. 
 
If you’re considering pursuing this further, it would be helpful to talk to someone who can help you assess whether negligence is involved and what your options are. In the meantime, keep all records related to the injury (medical bills, pictures of the burns, etc.) and any information you have about the smoke bomb.

Q: Wife was burnt by a smoke bomb at a wedding. Has potential scarring and burns over her hands, arms, shoulder, and face.