Office Chair Accidents
Office chair accidents mainly include seam bursting accidents, explosion accidents, and other hazards. Here is a detailed introduction:
Seam Bursting Accidents: Some consumers, aiming to save on procurement costs, ship office chairs purchased domestically overseas for use. For example, a consumer shipped a Sihoo office chair overseas. After six months of use, when a person weighing 83 kilograms sat down normally, a ten-centimeter-long tear appeared at the seam of the chair back. Although the chair was still under warranty, the cost of cross-border returns and exchanges, which required the consumer to pay for high round-trip shipping fees, exceeded two-thirds of the chair's original price. This reflects that some office chairs may not meet the long-term usage requirements in different environments in terms of quality, and cross-border after-sales services are costly.
Explosion Accidents: These are relatively serious and highly hazardous types of accidents. In 2013, Ms. Liu from Xiamen sat on a swivel chair after taking a shower when suddenly there was a loud bang. A three-centimeter-thick steel rod shot out from the bottom of the chair, directly piercing her lower body. It took six hours of emergency treatment at the hospital to remove more than ten metal fragments. Over the past decade, more than 40 similar accidents have occurred nationwide, with some people being injured or nearly losing their lives. The secret behind these explosions lies in the pneumatic rod under the chair, which is a miniature high-pressure tube. Reputable manufacturers use nitrogen, which is stable and safe; however, some unscrupulous manufacturers, to save money, replace it with compressed air. The oxygen in the air can cause metal friction to oxidize, increasing temperature and pressure, much like an untimed pressure cooker that explodes when released. The impact force released instantly by the air pressure can penetrate several density boards, with severe consequences if it hits a person. In addition, a pneumatic rod with overly thin walls, insufficient purity of inert gas, or replacement with compressed air, as well as frequent lifting and lowering causing a sudden increase in temperature, can all trigger explosions. According to a 2020 inspection by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the failure rate of office chairs reached 23.3%, with 17 batches being swivel chairs. The main issues were concentrated on the pneumatic rod's failure to meet high and low-temperature resistance standards and the lack of explosion-proof steel plates.
Other Hazards: If the chair starts to make creaking noises or wobbles unsteadily, there may be safety hazards. This serves as a warning to users that the chair is about to give way, and continued use may lead to more serious accidents, such as falls or injuries caused by detached parts.
