Debra Allen of Raleys solicitors, who has been representing a number of victims of injury by the so called ‘toxic sofas,’ has welcomed news that furniture retailers have been instructed to pay out as much as £20 million in personal injury compensation to consumers who suffered rashes and chemical burns after buying sofas which were laced with the toxic chemical DMF, which is banned in furniture production in the EU.
Ms. Allen hailed the ruling “another step towards justice being done” for the victims who “suffered a lot of discomfort, distress and inconvenience because they were unlucky enough to buy a sofa contaminated with a banned substance.”
The court was asked to approve a tariff setting out the amount the defendant companies will have to pay in compensation to non-severe claims. Non-severe claims are considered to be those where the symptoms lasted less than eighteen months and where inpatient hospital treatment was not deemed necessary. Debra also added that this ruling only applies to cases where liability has been accepted. Disputed liability claims and serious injury claims will be considered in future hearings.
The ruling should mean that victims will get prompt and fair compensation for their suffering. In total over 4,000 claims have been made in the UK for injuries allegedly caused by DMF in sofas.
The ruling does not apply to consumers who bought their sofas at Land of Leather, because the High Court ruled last month that the retailer’s insurers shouldn’t have to pay compensation. That decision is being challenged in an appeal.
A man left paralysed as a result of a road traffic accident involving a car in which he was a passenger has won what is thought to be the UK’s highest ever compensation payout. Mr Mohammed, 22, was left with horrific injuries, including a broken neck and damage to the spinal cord when the driver tried to overtake another car at high speed on the approach to a junction and hit a car waiting to turn right.
Mr Mohammed now has no movement at all in his legs and very limited function of the arms. The compensation payout which is worth an estimated total of £11.5 million goes some way to getting justice for Mr Mohammed’s devastating injuries and to paying for his lifelong care.
Mr Mohammed now needs two carers at all times to help him go about his daily life and the cost of this care will be covered by annual payments of £235,000. As he is a member of a traditional Pakistani family, he would normally have been expected to stay in the family home to care for his elderly parents, in accordance with tradition for eldest sons. Unfortunately, the accident has meant that he is no longer able to do this, so part of the initial compensation of £4.25 million is being used to build him a purpose built home opposite that of his parents so that he can live as closely to the tradition as possible.
Mr Mohammed’s case is devastating but the compensation he has received will hopefully go some way to getting him justice and providing for his ongoing care, so that he may live his life as independently as possible.
A recent High Court Ruling in London has upheld arguments by Land of Leathers’ insurers that they should not have to pay out on claims against the chain which is no longer trading. The ruling led to fears that up to 300 consumers might be left out of pocket.
The claims come following rashes and burns to several consumers who bought the so called ‘toxic sofas.’ It is claimed that the injuries were caused by dimethyl fumerate (DMF), an anti-mould fungicide which was allegedly present in sachets inside the affected sofas. DMF is no permitted in furniture production in the UK.
However, Debra Allen at Raleys Solicitors confirmed that not all claims for the ‘toxic sofas’ would be affected by the decision because it only relates to sofas bought from Land of Leather and manufactured by Chinese company Linkwise. She therefore urged claimants to contact their solicitor rather than merely assuming their claim would go no further.
Claims against Land of Leather regarding sofas made by other manufacturers are still ongoing, as are claims against other retailers including Argos, who have admitted liability for certain ranges of sofas sold in its stores. In total there have been 4000 claims in the UK for ‘toxic sofas.’
Land of Leather has denied that DMF was present in sofas manufactured by other companies and tests are ongoing, whilst victims who bought from Argos are awaiting agreement of a protocol for assessing the extent of their injuries in order to set up a tariff to determine the appropriate amount of compensation.
Acknowledging that the High Court ruling represented a blow to customers who had bought Linkwise sofas from Land of Leather, Debra Allen emphasised that claims made against other retailers or against other manufacturers sold at Land of Leather were unaffected and that clients should consult their solicitors before resigning themselves to being out of pocket.
It has been announced that scientists are getting closer to producing a vaccine which they hope will be able to prevent deadly mesothelioma, a debilitating and often deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure which kills thousands every year.
The new therapy has been tested on patients who have mesothelioma and three in ten of them demonstrated some shrinking of their tumours. The researchers now hope to be able to produce a vaccine which will prevent the cancer in the first place. The therapy, which has been developed in Holland, works by stimulating the immune system to attack the cancerous cells.
The news is very positive and it is hoped that the treatment will save hundreds of lives in the future. Unfortunately it is too little too late for the 70,000 UK men and women who will die from cancer brought about by asbestos exposure. But the work of the researchers does represent some justice for the hundreds of sufferers who have fought for recognition of what caused their cancer.