Sofa burn victims struggle for compensation

30/03/2009

Britons seeking personal injury compensation for skin burns caused by 'toxic sofas' may not be able to claim from Land of Leather.

Some 14 high street chains have admitted selling leather furniture containing dimethyl fulmarate, a chemical that can cause blistering of the skin, and 2,000 buyers could be in line for compensation payouts totalling £10 million.

However, over 500 claims against Land of Leather, which went into administration in January, hang in the balance after insurer Zurich decided it may not cover 310 of them.

Zurich asserts that some of the claims relate to a Chinese manufacturer called Linkwise.

During Friday's court hearing the presiding judge, Mr Justice MacDuff, gave Zurich three weeks to explain why it would not provide compensation cover.

Last year saw Land of Leather fined £210,000 by the Financial Services Authority for allowing its sales force to sell payment protection insurance without effective monitoring or training.

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