Retail Plastic Bag Failure

A Case Study

Problem: Heavy object breaks through plastic bag, causing personal injury.

Plastic bags have become the standard for many retailers, however, defective design or manufacturing can lead to bag failure, and can cause personal injury or property damage. Additionally, improper bag loading or bagging training can also lead to bag failure. Plastic Expert Group specializes in determining the cause of plastic failures for our clients through detailed scientific analysis.

QUESTION: What caused a plastic bag to fail?

 

Retailers primarily utilize plastic bags as a means for shoppers to transports their purchases from checkout. The use of plastic bags can be safe and effective, but only when the plastic bags are property manufactured and utilized. Plastic Expert Group was hired to analyze the reason for a plastic bag failure in a personal injury case involving a customer.

 

ANALYSIS: Determine if defective design, defective manufacturing, improper bag loading, or improper bagging training led to the plastic bag failure.

Plastic Expert Group analyzed the bag that failed, as well as other samples obtained from the retailer. Our analysis determined the exact thickness of the failed plastic bag, as well as several high-stress points caused by the bag’s design.

 

 

CONCLUSION: The plastic bag failed due to several defects, including defective bag design, defective bag manufacture, defective bag loading, and defective bagging training.

Plastic Expert Group concluded there were multiple reasons for the bag’s failure which ultimately led to personal injury. First, the bag’s plastic thickness was up to 55% below the retailer’s specification. Next, the defective bag design caused stress points at the bottom of the bag. Finally, the bag was not properly loaded by the employee, compounding the stress on an already flawed plastic bag.