Derby resident seeks legal advice from Sheffield experts in toxic sofa scare
3 July 2008
The growing health scare over toxic sofas reached Derby today as local resident Jane Morrison revealed that she has sought legal advice after a sudden and severe skin reaction.
Jane Morrison of Chaddesden, Derby took delivery of a set of leather sofas from the Linkwise range at Land of Leather, in August 2007. By December Ms Morrsion had developed a rash - but had no reason to suspect her new furniture. "the sofas were the last thing on my mind - at that stage I thought it might be caused by the sauna at my gym.'
The rash continued and by February 2008 Jane Morrison was seeking medical advice. Again the medical profession was still in the dark and no obvious cause was found. However the rash did not go away- ‘by May 2008 my back was in a horrible condition -I was covered in a red, itchy rash, with painful blisters. I didn't know where to turn as I could not figure out why I had this terrible reaction. I had already tried antibiotics and as a last resort even turned to treatment from a Chinese herbalist.'
Then the penny dropped as news reports began about batches of sofas covered in fungicide causing skin complaints and in May the store removed the sofas from her house.
Ms Morrison turned to legal specialist Andrew Oxley of Ashton Morton Slack solicitors for guidance. "Ms Morrison has suffered incredible discomfort as a result of her defective sofa., which has been compounded by the lack of awareness of what problems this type of fungicide can cause. We are advising her about compensation for her injuries and she has a strong claim that the affected sofas are unsafe and therefore defective in the eyes of the law.
Ms Morrison is also determined to get the message across to other families that these sofas are out there in homes and could be the reason for unexplained medical complaints. Her advice; ‘seek medical advice and don't overlook what is right in front of you -the answer could be in your living room'
For more information about Jane's story click here to read the recent story in the Derby Telegraph.