Faulty product injury claims and the ease of access to product recall notices

Whilst researching faulty product injury claims in October 2008, an interesting item was found on the very useful Trading Standards website product recall notice page; which holds a list of the latest items that manufacturers have identified as being of below standard quality.

On this particular occasion, amongst the supermarket products of chicken on a stick that hasn't been fully cooked and gluten-free apple pies that might just contain chunks of blue plastic, there was a particularly eye-catching product recall notice.

The merchandise in question was a batch of large rectangular mirrors from a well-known, High Street, home furnishings store. The recall involved products sold between January and August 2006.

The company stated that they had been made aware of a safety problem with the mirror; in as much as they had found that fixings within the mirror frame had been shown to weaken with age and the mirror could fall out of the frame. This was a fairly large mirror, weighing 20kg and if it fell on you while you were blow-drying your hair, or tying a shoe lace, it was likely to cause significant injury. As the product recall notice stated, it "could potentially cause damage."

The company offered anyone who had bought the mirror a full refund at a local store, or they offered a collection service for the mirror, with full refund. Alternatively they suggested that customers carefully removed the product and disposed of it safely. The company also offered an apology and highlighted that they felt it was their responsibility to address any potential risks of the faulty product. As a gesture of goodwill to their clients they declared they would give a monetary gift card to any customer returning the product, in addition to the refund.

However, on the company's website, there was no mention of the faulty product recall and although the notice could be found easily on the Trading Standards site, unless you were actively looking for faulty product notices, you might have been unlikely to find out that your 20kg mirror could fall on you causing severe personal injury at any time.

Faulty product injury claims and YouClaim compensation
Despite the availability of product recall notices on the Trading Standards website, there is still a risk to consumers from faulty products. If you or a loved one have suffered personal injury due to a badly designed or badly made item then you may be able to claim 100% compensation with You Claim.

Our specialist product liability solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis that means whatever the outcome of your claim you will never be charged for their services. They have years of experience and are all governed by the exacting standards demanded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

You can speak to one of our advisers by calling our free UK helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or we can always call you back at a time to suit you.

Or you may wish to fill in our online claim form giving us brief details of your faulty product injury claim. Whichever way you choose to get in touch with us we endeavour to give you the best service possible.