Product liability claim for 4-year-old severely burnt by bath foam

Emma Hall is currently pursuing a product liability claim on behalf of youngster Oscar Beddard after mouldable children's bath foam ignited in his bath and badly burnt his face and body. She has also informed Trading Standards about the incident.

The claim is brought under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 against T J Morris, the trading name for Home Bargains which produces the foam, sold in a spray can.

Four-year-old Oscar was playing with the foam in his bath at home in Warrington in July when it splashed onto a bathroom candle and burst into flames. His mother, Nicola, quickly picked up Oscar and rushed him outside into the paddling pool to cool him down. An ambulance took him to hospital where he spent eight days in ICU treating the burns that covered 17 per cent of his body.

Although he is back home and recovering well physically, his parents are very concerned about the emotional impact the incident has had on him, not least his fear of going back into the bathroom. His father, Jon, said, 'His behaviour has changed a lot, he gets angry very quickly. He's wary, scared - it's had a big effect on him.' Doctors say Oscar will likely need skin grafts as he grows older and the scars will always be visible.

Jonathan and Nicola Beddard spoke to the Telegraph and the Sun newspapers about what happened in the hope of warning other parents about the dangers of the foam. Separately, the family conducted their own experiments and found that when dry, the foam did not ignite but immediately it was wet, it turned into a fireball.

Emma said that although mouldable bath foams typically carry safety warnings, these can easily be taken to refer to the danger of the aerosol cans they come in, rather than the flammability of the product itself.

She added: "They should be completely recalled. If you look at the similar incident with the Paw Patrol soap, there is clearly something highly flammable in these products. People just pick these items up off the shelf and think that it's a sensory play thing so it will be fine."

Read Oscar's story reported in the Sun.

Contact us

For further information about product liability claims and child injury claims, please call Emma Hall on 0330 460 6754 or email emma.hall@fieldfisher.com.

Alternatively

• You can speak to our personal injury solicitors on freephone 0800 358 3848
• e-Mail them at personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
• Complete the short online enquiry form

All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win no fee. Find out more about no win no fee claims.