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.
When someone is injured down to the fault of others, they rely on an injury claim specialist to help them get justice. Your life is not only disrupted for one day when you are injured, it takes time for physical injuries to heal and the emotional damage can stay with people for a lifetime. There may be trauma: a natural by-product of one person injuring another, accidental or not. Often there are not only medical bills and appointments, but lost wages or sometimes, even lost life for which a claimant is seeking compensation.