Conagra sign in Chicago. Photo: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

A former actor who's now a litigator with Bridgeport-based Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder is leading the litigation against packaged food giant Conagra, alleging the company's cooking sprays, including Pam, are dangerous and have caused injuries by exploding.

Connecticut attorney J. Craig Smith filed six separate lawsuits against the makers of Pam and other cooking sprays Tuesday in Chicago, where Conagra is headquartered. His filings name Conagra Foods Inc. and Conagra Brands Inc. as defendants.

The lawsuits have put the 48-year-old Georgia native in the spotlight. Or back in the spotlight, because Smith is a former actor who's starred in movies with Martin Sheen and Halle Berry.

Smith, who has been an attorney for 20 years including about 16 years in Connecticut, had a successful career in theater, movies and television with national appearances on stage and in several motion pictures. His roles included the movie “Queen,” which was the sequel to “Roots” and starred Sheen and Berry. He also appeared on television shows, including “In The Heat of the Night,” a drama series about a police chief.

Smith graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, in 1999. He is licensed in Georgia, South Carolina and Connecticut, where he has worked the past 15 years for Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder. He is an experienced litigator with an emphasis on personal injury, products liability, complex litigation and civil rights cases.

Smith told the Connecticut Law Tribune on Friday he has been swamped with calls since he filed the lawsuits Tuesday. “There were at least 20 cases of burns I knew of, but this week I have heard from at least double that amount of people who say they were injured. Even fire departments have been reaching out to me.”

The six lawsuits were filed on behalf individuals from five states who say they were injured when the spray cans exploded. Conagra began using a new aerosol-can design in 2011, which Smith says is at the heart of the controversy. The new design includes a venting mechanism on the bottom of the can intended to allow the container to vent its flammable contents in a controlled manner. Instead, Smith said, the cans, which the company stopped making earlier this year, “are faulty, dangerous and prone to explosion.”

Among the plaintiffs Smith represents is Maria Mariani, a Staten Island, New York, resident.

“She suffered life-altering injuries,” Smith said. “She was burned on more than 20% of her body. She got out of the hospital on Monday and has had a number of surgeries and skin grafts. She is still being treated on a daily basis.”

J. Craig Smith

Even though the spray cans in question, which are sold under various names, were discontinued early this year, Smith said they are still on store shelves and in people's homes.

A recall is needed, he said.

“They know where the cans are and who bought them and can track them,” Smith said. “Issuing a nationwide recall will often frighten people, those that want to be their customers. And giving back cans can be expensive. I imagine at $3 to $4 a can, it could be in the millions of dollars.”

It was unclear how much plaintiffs would seek in damages, because Smith said each case is different and the amount of compensation sought would vary.

Representing Conagra is attorney Mary Young of Blackwell Burke, the company's national counsel, who said she'd have to consult with her client before commenting, but had not done so by press time.

Meanwhile, Conagra's marketing team emailed a statement Friday to the Connecticut Law Tribune.

“When PAM is used correctly, as instructed, it is a 100% safe and effective product,” company spokesman Daniel Hare said. “PAM cooking sprays is used safely and properly by millions of people several times a day, every single day. … All PAM cooking sprays include large, clear instructions, warnings and cautions on both the front and back of the packaging alerting consumers that the product should be used responsibly as it is flammable, and that it should not be left on a stove or near a heat source, should not be sprayed near an open flame, and should not be stored about 120 degrees.”

But since the news of the lawsuits hit, Smith said he's been investigating “new claims which have injuries ranging from comas to people with burns on 20 to 30% of their bodies.”

“We are talking all kinds of surgeries and all kinds of skin grafts,” he said.

Also representing the plaintiffs in four of the six lawsuits is Joseph Lyon of The Lyon Firm in Cincinnati. Along with Smith, representing the plaintiffs in all six lawsuits are Peter Flowers and Frank Cesarone of Chicago-based Meyers & Flowers.