Herbalist given suspended sentence after selling cancer-causing pills A medicinal herbalist has been given a 2 year suspended sentence after selling pills that left one of her customers with kidney failure and cancer.  The supposedly safe pills she had sold were analysed and found to contain the cancer-causing chemical aristolochic acid.  The case has raised concerns about the potential risks of alternative medicines, and their potential to cause severe injuries. This particular… read more

Parents of children injured by defective pushchairs are suing the manufacturer 15 British families are suing the maker of the pushchairs, Maclaren, after their children lost their fingertips in pushchair hinges.  The British claims come after one million pushchairs featuring the same design of hinge were withdrawn from the USA.  The majority of injuries are reported to have involved children who have injured their fingers in these defective hinges.  In some… read more

A slightly more unusual story in the press recently was that of the “toxic sofas” – leather upholstered furniture made in China using dangerous chemicals that left thousands of people in the UK with serious chemical burns.  Now a court case expected to cost retailers several millions of pounds is reaching its conclusion.  Big names such as Argos, Walmsleys and Land of Leather are implicated in the case, along with… read more

When making a claim for compensation where a person has been injured by a faulty or defective product, the key legislation that your solicitor will relate to is the Consumer Protection Act 1987.  This Act gives people the right to seek redress for death or injury caused by using defective consumer goods.  The Act also sets out a requirement that all goods for domestic use must be reasonably safe, bearing… read more

The expensive extended warranties sold with electrical goods look set to face the chop as the Officer of Fair Trading enforces new consumer protection regulations.The regulations, which came into force in May as a result of a European Union directive, prevent the selling of rights that people already have in law. Consumer rights activists have argued that the extended warranties are doing just this, by tricking consumers into buying insurance… read more