Appliance house fire claims

The fire claims team at Leigh Day is currently representing a number of people whose lives have been affected by household appliance fires. Suffering a fire in your home can be a devastating experience, and some of our clients have suffered serious injury, as well as damaged properties. Unfortunately, in rare cases, house fires have led to the death of a loved one.

Consumer group Which? has found that faulty appliances have accounted for nearly 16,000 fires across the UK since 2012.

Every year hundreds of fires are caused by washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, ovens, and fridges and freezers. Fire claims lawyer and team leader, Jill Paterson, has acted for clients who have been affected by house fires believed to have been caused by all these types of appliance. The team includes former LFB fire investigation officer, Andrew Vaughan-Davies and partner Thomas Jervis. Over the last 13 years the fire claims team has investigated numerous compensation claims relating to domestic appliances produced by white goods companies including Beko, Bosch, Indesit, Hotpoint, Hoover Candy and Whirlpool.

Safety campaigners believe that appliance manufacturers have not done enough to raise awareness about potential problems associated with their products, leaving many consumers unaware that their homes could be at risk of fire. Members of the Leigh Day team believe that the product safety and recall system in the UK needs to be overhauled to better protect consumer safety.

Members of the appliance fire team are regularly invited to comment in the media on the issue of product safety and recall, including on BBC News and Radio, ITV and Sky, as well as in newspapers including the Sunday Times and the Mirror. Our clients’ stories have featured in news items covered by BBC’s Watchdog and many other consumer programmes.

David v Goliath

If you have suffered from a fire caused by a faulty home appliance such as a tumble dryer, fridge freezer or washing machine, and your home has been destroyed, getting back on your feet again can be a struggle.

Dealing with the manufacturers of the product, who are often large corporations, can be daunting. That’s where we come in. Our ethos is to ensure that the ordinary person has just as good quality legal advice as our state bodies, insurers and multi-nationals which has led us to take on many ‘David and Goliath’ legal struggles for justice.

White goods should not cause fires. They shouldn’t destroy your life, your home, your belongings. The personal injuries caused by fires are not only physical but can affect you psychologically, a consequence of fire which is often overlooked.