Amazon can be sued over suicides linked to sodium nitrite, court rules

The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Amazon.com AMZN.O must face lawsuits brought by families with relatives who took their own lives by consuming sodium nitrite they bought on the online retailer's platform.

It rejected a lower court's ruling that the families could not pursue negligence claims under a Washington state product liability law, because suicide was a superseding cause of their relatives' deaths.

Four families accused Amazon of promoting the sale of sodium nitrite on its website alongside other products that could assist people in carrying out suicides.

They said the Seattle-based retailer has known of the link between sodium nitrite and suicide for years yet continued to sell the product without restrictions.

Amazon and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

-Jonathan Stempel/Reuters