An Illinois woman died in a Missouri hospital last year after drinking hand sanitizer that was tainted with wood alcohol, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Friday in federal court.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, says Kayla Lynn Stagner, 32, of Jersey County, died May 30, 2020, at a hospital in Fenton, Missouri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. According to the lawsuit, the St. Louis County Medical Examiner established Stagner’s cause of death was caused by acute methanol intoxication. Testing in connection with the autopsy found “deadly levels of methanol” in Blumen Advanced Instant Sanitizer Clear, the lawsuit says. Stagner, who was an alcoholic, is believed to have consumed the hand sanitizer, the lawsuit alleges.

The sanitizer was purchased from a Sam’s Club retail outlet in Maplewood, Illinois, KSDK reported.

The lawsuit claims the active ingredient listed on the label was ethanol, which is used in alcoholic beverages. but, the sanitizer contained methanol, which was not listed on the label, the television station reported.

The sanitizer is supposed to contain 70% ethyl alcohol, the lawsuit alleges and referenced a Blumen voluntary recall in 2020 after the hand sanitizer was found to contain methanol.

The lawsuit was filed by Stagner’s mother, Debra Stagner, on behalf of Kayla Stagner’s 12-year-old daughter, the Post-Dispatch reported. The lawsuit named San Antonio-based 4e Brands Northamerica LLC, maker of the Blumen sanitizer, and Sam’s Club, where it was sold.

Stagner’s family is seeking $75,000 in damages, KSDK reported.

According to her obituary, Kayla Stagner was born in St. Louis and graduated from Jersey Community High School in 2006.