Washington’s highest court delivered a unanimous decision Thursday allowing grieving families to proceed with legal action against Amazon.com over the deaths of loved ones who used sodium nitrite purchased through the e-commerce giant to end their lives.
The state Supreme Court overturned a previous lower court decision that had blocked the families from pursuing negligence claims under Washington’s product liability statutes. The earlier ruling had determined that suicide served as an intervening cause that broke the chain of liability for the deaths.
The legal challenge involves four separate families who allege that Amazon actively encouraged sodium nitrite sales through its website while also marketing additional items that could help individuals complete suicide attempts.
According to the plaintiffs, the Seattle-headquartered company has been aware of sodium nitrite’s role in suicide deaths for multiple years but has chosen to continue offering the substance for purchase without implementing safety restrictions.
Representatives for Amazon and the company’s legal team have not yet provided responses to media inquiries seeking comment on the court’s ruling.
