Winnipeg family claims 'excruciating' skin wounds linked to sunscreen, sues manufacturer

Vera-Lynn Kubinec · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 27, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A Winnipeg household who went connected a abrogation hoping to unbend and bask their clip distant ended up experiencing unbearable symptom connected their tegument which they assertion was caused by the sunscreen merchandise they used.

The parent and 3 young children are present suing the institution that makes the sunscreen and the retailer that sold it to them.

The pistillate and her hubby went to Cuba for a vacation successful April 2023 on with their children, present aged 13, 10 and six, says a statement of assertion she filed this period astatine the Court of King's Bench successful Winnipeg.

Before leaving, they went to a Walmart store successful Winnipeg and bought a vessel of Banana Boat Ultra Sport SPF 50 sunscreen to instrumentality with them.

While connected vacation, the parent applied the sunscreen to herself and the children successful the mode outlined successful the directions connected the product, according to the connection of claim.

Shortly aft the sunscreen was applied, the ma and her children felt a "burning sensation" connected the tegument wherever the merchandise was applied, the tribunal papers says.

Thinking that the burning sensation could person been caused by prima exposure, they reapplied the sunscreen astir 2 hours later.

Vacation 'transformed into a nightmare': suit

"After applying the sunscreen for a 2nd time, the plaintiffs felt excruciating and unbearable pain, akin to feeling acerb connected their skin," the assertion says.

The mother had tegument wounds on her forehead, chest, arms, shoulder, backmost and knees, it says.

Her girl got wounds and rashes connected her shoulders and arms, according to the lawsuit, portion the present 10-year-old lad had wounds connected his shoulders, back, face, ears and arms, and his six-year-old member had wounds connected his face, ears, and forearms.

"What was expected to beryllium a relaxing and joyful household abrogation rapidly transformed into a nightmare," the tribunal papers says. 

The symptom from the wounds got worse, forcing the household to enactment retired of the prima for the remainder of the travel and miss retired connected immoderate non-refundable excursions they had planned, the suit claims.

It says that erstwhile the household returned to Winnipeg, they were "covered successful fluid-filled blisters" and discovered they had chemic burns connected their tegument resulting from the sunscreen.

The allegations successful the connection of assertion person not been tested successful tribunal and the defendants person not filed defence statements.

Sunscreen contained carcinogenic benzene: lawsuit

The parent and 3 children are each plaintiffs successful the lawsuit, with the parent serving arsenic litigation guardian for the youths.

They're suing the shaper and distributor of the Banana Boat marque sunscreen, Edgewell Personal Care Canada ULC, arsenic good arsenic Walmart Canada Corp., which was the retailer.

The suit alleges that Edgewell made oregon distributed a sunscreen that was defective and unsafe for use. 

The tribunal papers claims the Banana Boat sunscreen was made with the chemic compound benzene, which Edgewell "knew oregon ought to person known was harmful to quality tegument and has carcinogenic properties."

The tribunal papers alleges Edgewell failed to enactment a informing connected the sunscreen vessel astir immoderate imaginable adverse effects that could hap from applying the product.

It besides alleges Walmart and its employees had a work to guarantee the sunscreen it was selling was safe. Walmart failed to notify its employees astir the dangers associated with the product, the assertion says. 

A spokesperson for Edgewell said successful a connection the institution does not remark connected unfastened litigation.

An emailed connection from Stephanie Fusco, Walmart Canada's elder manager of firm affairs, said the institution is alert of the complaint, but since it's an ongoing ineligible matter, it cannot remark further.

Fusco said the sunscreen merchandise astatine contented successful the suit is presently disposable for sale.

CBC reached retired to the plaintiff's lawyer for remark connected the lawsuit but had not received a effect anterior to publication.

The suit seeks an unspecified magnitude of damages for the parent and children successful a assortment of categories, including for pain, suffering, and nonaccomplishment of enjoyment of life.