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The UK code of conduct, The Labelling and Display of Potentially Harmful Plants specifies which plants should have warning labels on them, but if you have bought a plant from a garden centre, which was unlabelled and caused you to be ill, then you could make a product liability claim.
The majority of the general public don't have a great knowledge of plants, and some important information is not widely known, so it is extremely important for garden centres and botanical gardens to have all their poisonous plants clearly labelled.
Labels which are not prominent, or which only have warnings in small print at the back, could end up causing the plant purchaser a personal injury.
Workers in botanical gardens are also at risk. There should be labels attached to trees and signs in plant-beds, but if maintenance of these labels is not kept up, or the plants not cut back from the front of signs, workers may come into contact with a plant that is poisonous without knowing.
People who buy from garden centres and botanical gardens could purchase a toxic plant without being aware and suffer because of it later, due to poor or non-existent labelling.
Which plants to watch out for
Many people do not realise just how many of the UK's commonly found plants are poisonous.
Some plants, if recognisable to the person coming across them, bare names with warnings. Deadly Nightshade is deadly for a reason, but the innocent sounding Daffodil, for example, can be found in a list of plants warned to be toxic. Young children, who may be curious and eat a daffodil, could get very ill.
The rhyme "leaves of three, let them be", is unfortunately not that informative. Poison Oak and Poison Ivy, which both have shoots with three leaves, close together at the tip, can be recognised with the rhyme, but there are hundreds of other plants which don't follow the rule.
Staying away from a certain part of a plant may not be much use either. Different parts of different varieties of plants are dangerous. In some plants the seeds are poisonous, while in other plants the leaves or stalks may be toxic. Other plants cause allergic reactions if they are touched.
Eating a poisonous plant
Consumption of poisonous plants can cause nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, abnormal heart beat, and potentially even death if the person is very young, or the plant is highly toxic.
It is unfortunate that many colourful plants, which sometimes attract young children, are dangerous to them. Foxglove, in a beautiful tower of light purple, if ingested, can cause abnormal heart beats.
If it is suspected that someone has eaten part of a plant which contains poison, it is a good idea to drink a couple of glasses of water.
In severe cases, especially if the person is experiencing pain, medical advice should be sought quickly as the situation may call for an ambulance. If a hospital visit is required, it is very useful to the medical team if they have a few leaves, flowers or berries of the plant which has been eaten.
Alternatively, if the name of the plant is known, it should be written down.
Touching a poisonous plant
If skin comes into contact with a toxic plant, this can cause itching, swelling, blisters, and extreme skin sensitivity. It is important not to rub or scratch the affected area as this will only increase the irritation.
Want to make a product liability claim?
If you have you been sold a poisonous plant without warning labels, or with insufficient labelling, which has then caused you or a family member to have an allergic reaction or become ill, you could make a product liability, or personal injury compensation claim.
If you have had an allergic reaction or become ill from having worked around a plant which had no warning label, or was not sufficiently labelled, then you could make a work injury claim.
YouClaim has a team of solicitors with specialist knowledge of product liability law and have many years of experience dealing with product liability claims.
We operate on a no win, no fee basis and should you make a successful claim, you will receive 100% compensation. We won't take a penny.
Contact us today on 0800 10 757 95 to find out more about making a product liability claim.
Or fill in an online claim form and we will call you back.
