From Thursday's Scott v. Amazon.com, Inc., decided by the Washington Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Helen Whitener); the lawsuit was brought by the families of four people who committed suicide, three adults (ages 18, 19, and 27) and one minor (age 17):
Amazon sells … "Loudwolf Sodium Nitrite" and "HiMedia GRM417-500G Sodium Nitrite." Each of the four decedents ingested the sodium nitrite they purchased from the Amazon website. According to Plaintiffs, sodium nitrite is used in laboratories for research and medical purposes, and it is also used in meat preservation. When used as a meat preservative, sodium nitrite is one of many ingredients. Curing salts typically call for sodium nitrite of 6.0 percent purity.
HiMedia Sodium Nitrite is 98.0 percent pure and Loudwolf Sodium Nitrite is 99.6 percent pure. Once ingested, sodium nitrite takes just minutes to produce enough methemoglobin to impair oxygen transport in the blood and cause hypoxia. Plaintiffs alleged that there is no legitimate household use for high purity sodium nitrite….
Plaintiffs alleged that Amazon promoted the sale of sodium nitrite on its website alongside other products that would assist in carrying out suicide. They contend that the Amazon website included recommended products, such as Tagamet to consumers who viewed sodium nitrite products. According to the Plaintiffs, Tagamet is an acid reduction medicine that suicide forums recommend purchasing to prevent life-saving vomiting that occurs when sodium nitrite is ingested.
Other products Plaintiffs identified being recommended on Amazon's website to customers who viewed sodium nitrite products include a small scale and a book titled The Peaceful Pill Handbook. Plaintiffs alleged that The Peaceful Pill Handbook is a suicide instruction book that devotes a chapter to lethal inorganic salts, which contains instructions on how to use sodium nitrite to die by suicide. The book states that sodium nitrite is readily available online and provides a hyperlink to the sodium nitrite products on the Amazon webpage.
Plaintiffs alleged that Amazon routinely sent reminder e-mails, with advertisements for these products, to customers who viewed sodium nitrite products on the webpage. In addition, Plaintiffs contend that one-star customer reviews from grieving family members about how the sodium nitrite product was being used for suicide were deleted by Amazon.
