Experts Urge That Lessons Are Learned From Issue

Legal experts who specialise in supporting those injured by defective products have welcomed the Government’s decision to take action regarding Whirlpool tumble dryers which are thought to pose a safety risk.

The Government is set to issue a recall notice related to around 500,000 dryers believed to be in use in the UK which are thought to have a fault linked to hundreds of fires across an 11-year period.

Whirlpool has urged anyone with an affected device to contact the company at the earliest opportunity, while the firm also added that the dryers should be unplugged and not used until modifications can be made to them.

The BBC reports that news of the move comes after an Office for Product Safety and Standards report earlier this year called on Whirlpool to improve risk management and use more “creative ways” to reach those affected by such issues.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Product Liability team has vast experience in providing advice to those who have suffered illness or injury as a result of faulty or defective devices, from household appliances to medical products.

Expert Opinion

“The fire risk associated with these Whirlpool tumble dryers was identified a long time ago, but until now Whirlpool has declined to issue a formal recall. Instead, it has advised customers to continue to use the devices whilst observing them for signs of fire.

"Clearly, this is not acceptable, and indeed It is shocking to think that potentially unsafe devices have been in use across the UK during this time.

“The absolute priority at this point must be to identify the relevant devices at the earliest opportunity and ensure they are either taken out of use or fixed in the necessary manner. Following that, further efforts must be made to reflect on this issue and determine what steps can be taken to ensure it simply does not happen again.

“Through our work, we have seen the major consequences that faulty devices can have on so many lives and manufacturers have a clear responsibility to always ensure that safety comes first. Lessons must be learned from this.” Matthew Newbould - Associate Solicitor

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