A delayed recall repair could be extremely irritating, and the data that you simply’re driving round in a automobile that might fail at any time is sobering, however for one couple, what may need been not more than an inconvenience turned tragic. In line with a brand new lawsuit, a hearth within the engine bay of a 2016 BMW X3 xDrive28i led to some’s home catching fireplace, inflicting the demise of their pets and accidents to themselves, which the husband by no means recovered from, stories CarComplaints.com. The widowed plaintiff alleges that this all occurred as a result of BMW didn’t handle a recalled water pump subject quickly sufficient.
The Course of Occasions That Led to a Lethal Fireplace
BMW
The lawsuit was filed by Jennifer Lea Higdon within the U.S. District Court docket for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta division), contending that on January 22, 2025, at round 9 AM, she began her X3 to let it heat up within the chilly climate earlier than returning inside the home to retrieve her purse. When she returned to her automobile, she allegedly noticed fireplace emanating from the engine compartment and, minutes later, “a fireball erupted from the automobile,” spreading to the home. When firefighters arrived on the scene, she and her husband, Timothy Sean Higdon, had been nonetheless inside making an attempt to save lots of their three canine and two cats, however the pets, sadly, died in the home fireplace. When the household emerged, that they had burns on their palms and faces and had been so badly burned that they needed to be life-flighted to the Grady Burn Middle in Atlanta, 100 miles away.
Related: Park It Outside: BMW Issues Recall After Cars Catch Fire While Off
“On account of the fireplace, Jennifer Higdon sustained main full-thickness burns overlaying 16% of her whole physique floor space, together with her palms, wrists, face, eyelids, ears, neck, higher again, and shoulders,” reads the lawsuit. “She additionally skilled corneal abrasions and inhalation burn accidents that required fast intubation.” She has scars over her higher physique and donor scars on her thigh from pores and skin grafting, too. However issues had been worse for her husband, who tragically died in June 2025 with the medical expert noting that “a home fireplace lower than a yr in the past” was among the many “important circumstances contributing to demise.”
Why Higdon Blames BMW for the Tragedy
BMW
The lawsuit says that the state fireplace marshal concluded the fireplace originated within the engine compartment of the BMW parked outdoors the couple’s dwelling, and though the swimsuit would not particularly say that officers decided this engine bay fireplace was attributable to a defective water pump, the lawsuit contends that it was the trigger. In August final yr, BMW recalled more than 720,000 vehicles for water pumps that might result in a hearth, however on the time, a treatment was unavailable. BMW issued interim notices to clients in October 2024, and though the producer was conscious of a minimum of 18 situations of the water pump subject, house owners weren’t informed to cease driving their autos. Worse nonetheless, the lawsuit alleges that Treatment is Accessible recall letters weren’t mailed till October 2025, although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says they were sent in March 2025. Both method, the treatment got here too late for the Higdons, and Jennifer blames BMW for not instantly repairing or changing the water pump.
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