Watch CBS News

New Glass Shower Door Regulations Sought After Rash Of Breaks & Injuries

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It can happen in a split second. One minute you're getting ready - the next - you're covered in glass.

Shower doors made with tempered glass can shatter unexpectedly, causing injury to those left vulnerable inside the shower.

It's happening so often --at home and at hotels-- the federal government is now working on new regulations to make glass shower doors safer.

A woman from Peters Township says she was left injured and bloody after a terrifying experience at the Four Seasons hotel in Chicago.

Diane Parker says the glass door in her hotel room's bathroom exploded when she was getting out of the shower.

"It was fiercely loud. I didn't know if it was a plane crashing, a bomb or an earthquake. It was loud and petrifying," Parker says.

Parker says the glass knocked her to the ground and cut her wrist.

"I felt like I had been hit with a Mack truck. I had shards of glass all over my neck, my entire body. It was pretty painful."

Parker's case is not an isolated incident. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are 300 injuries treated in emergency rooms every year from shower doors that shatter.

Oliver Kwilinski was injured when the glass shower door in his bathroom at home shattered.

"There was no force. It just shattered like a bomb," says Kwilinski.

Glass expert Mark Meshulam says glass shower doors are required to be made of tempered safety glass. Tempered glass breaks apart into little cubes when it shatters to prevent injuries or death.

But, when someone is showering, and that glass breaks, Meshulam says those cubes don't always have time to break apart before hitting an unsuspecting person.

"Anyone who is in that shower is at risk," says Meshulam.

He recommends that shower doors come with a safety film.

"I believe these doors should be designed like car windshields where the glass stays together when it's broken," says Meshulam.

He warns something as simple as allowing a shower door to hit tile can cause breaks.

In Parker's case, she believes the door hitting the wall in her hotel bathroom caused the glass to explode.

Parker wants others to be aware of what can happen with glass shower doors.

"You should be able to expect that you go in there and open and operate the door without it injuring you," says Parker.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.