Since April 2008 we have been reporting on the progress of the 1000 plus personal injury compensation claims for various skin conditions resulting from defective leather furniture.  Argos, who is one of the Defendants in the litigation, has now accepted that these problems were caused by anti fungicide sachets that were placed within the items of furniture.

More than 1000 people are making defective product injury claims after suffering painful skin reactions caused by Pia or Bari leather furniture supplied by a number of retailers.  With this new development it is hoped that it may now be possible for settlement proposals for their claims for compensation to be put forward.

A woman from Leeds whose sofa was manufactured in the UK and distributed by Homebase claims that it was defective, resulting in her infant son suffering injury.

Her claim is based on her son suffering severe burns approximately 1 hour after being laid on the leather sofa.  He had to remain bandaged for 3 months with a weeping rash, and his mother was unable to return to work at the end of her maternity leave, because of the amount of care he required.

Homebase have apologised for the distress caused and offered a refund, but have indicated that they have not received any other complaints concerning this particular type of sofa.

Currently, there are 1000s of people pursuing injury compensation claims in respect of defective sofas that were manufactured in China and sold under the names “Pia” and “Bari”, which caused burns and skin irritations.  Investigations in these cases suggest that any burns may have been caused by fungicide sachets that were inside the sofas and which were to protect against mould during transit and storage.

A Judge has given people who were injured by defective Pia and Bari sofas the go ahead for a group action, the effect of which is to progress the injury compensation claims together, but this does not stop people making new claims where they have been injured but have not yet done anything about it.

Mr Justice Treacy granted the Order against the companies which supplied the defective sofas, namely Argos; Land of Leather and Walmsley Furnishing.

More than 1000 people have made a personal injury claim after the Pia and Bari sofas manufactured in China appeared to cause a range of symptoms including allergies, rashes and burns.  The Pia and Bari ranges were withdrawn by Argos in October 2007 offering a refund or replacement.

Claims for personal injury compensation are being made by 100s of people who have bought sofas and suites from Argos stores and have since developed painful skin irritations and rashes.  These skin conditions appear to have been caused by direct contact with the sofas and suites sold.

Tests have been carried out by consultant dermatologists and the most likely source of the problems are items of furniture bought from Argos during 2007 that appear to have been made in China and were sold under the names of Pia or Bari.

Sufferers have described a number of symptoms, including the appearance of a rash or other blemishes on their backs, and have sometimes become aware of lumps under the skin that have caused additional stress and anxiety.  Diagnosis usually follows a visit to the GP or hospital and in many cases the remedy is straight forward.  However, the sufferer may be left with permanent scars.