A former New York City city hall official is suing Bath & Body Works, alleging that a candle exploded in her face and caused her skin to “sizzle.” Renita Francois, 41, was leaning in to smell her “Sweater Weather” candle when a “a shockwave of fire and debris” suddenly shot “directly into her face,” according to a federal lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast. Francois’ husband witnessed her face “catch fire, crackle, and blister as molten wax burned her skin” the lawsuit said. The incident, which occurred in January 2023 at their home in Valley Stream, New York, left Francois with second-degree burns. Francois claims her permanent scars are “not just a physical injury” but also “an assault on her self-perception, and a daily reminder of a tragedy that could have been prevented.” The mother-of-two is suing both Bath & Body Works and the three-wick candle’s manufacturer, Premier Candle Corp., seeking unspecified damages. Her lawsuit claims the incident could have been prevented because the companies had “prior knowledge” that the product “posed a serious and foreseeable risk of explosion.” Francois served as executive director for the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety under Mayor Bill de Blasio between July 2018 and April 2022. The Daily Beast has reached out to Bath & Body Works and Premier Candle Corp for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Read it at Daily Mail
