Toxic sofa victims await compensation

Consumers left with agonising injuries from toxic chemicals on sofas are finally set to receive compensation.

Solicitors representing around 2,000 victims from around the UK were due to return to the high court today to find out how much compensation Argos and Land of Leather will be paying out.

The chemical, applied to the Chinese made sofas to stop them getting damp, gave victims burn-like injuries to the skin.

It is thought that when people sat on the sofas their body heat caused the toxic chemical to vaporise and penetrate their clothes.

One victim said “We bought a brown leather sofa from Argos in April 2007 and the problems started a month later, but my husband was not affected.

“The skin on my buttocks, my back and my arm between my wrist and my elbow went red and started to weep.

“It kept getting worse and got very hot and by the time I saw my doctor it was weeping very badly.

“It was disgusting. The skin was peeling off and falling onto the carpet. I had to throw my clothes away.”

When the problem eased when she went on holiday to Florida she suspected the sofa was to blame. A dermatologist at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff later confirmed the diagnosis after being contacted by another dermatologist who had a patient with the same skin condition.

Another victim, who saw the skin on his back, buttocks and scalp turn red and peel off, said he feared he would not live long enough to receive compensation.

Argos no longer sells the problem sofas and Land of Leather has closed down.

The court case was adjourned earlier this year when doubt emerged over whether Zurich, the insurers for Land of Leather, would pay out.

An agreement on the amount of compensation is due to be reached tomorrow.