DENISE Parks and her husband, Robert, were in bed at their home in North Lanarkshire, when a fire broke out in the living room around 3am.
A laptop and two mobile phones, a Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG K8, were left charging on a couch before the couple retired for the night.
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Denise sued former phone manufacturer LG
Denise has successfully sued former phone manufacturer LG for nearly £150,000 after one of its devices sparked a fire in her home in North Lanarkshire.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, a judge ruled that an LG phone, supplied to Ms Parks by her employer North Lanarkshire Council, was the source of the fire.
More than £140,000 of the award was allocated to her insurance company, which had already paid Ms Parks for a claim.
In his judgement, Sheriff Robert Fife said: “At the time the fire started, the LG was in normal use, being charged by a suitable charger, and in circumstances in which a standard product would not have failed.”
“The court was entitled to draw an inference that the LG was defective.
“The LG did not meet the standard of safety that persons generally are entitled to expect.”
The effects of the fire
Ms Parks informed the court that she was treated for smoke inhalation after the fire reports the BBC.
She also had a history of panic attacks and anxiety which worsened after the incident.
As a result of the fire, she was also off work between 2 November in 2018 and 7 February 2019.
She raised an action against LG Electronics UK Ltd at the personal injury court at Edinburgh Sheriff Court seeking damages.
Liability for the fire was contested, but the sheriff ruled on the balance of probabilities that the LG phone ignited the fire.
He found that there was a defect in the LG phone and that Ms Parks had successfully established liability against the makers.
He also found that she had proved she sustained injury because of the fire.
The sheriff ruled that Ms Parks was entitled to £149,496 in damages.
The majority of the money won has been allocated to an insurance company through a subrogated loss claim.
Why does heat damage batteries?
Here’s what you need to know…
- Hot temperatures can cause permanent damage to batteries
- That’s because batteries contain fluids, and work through chemical reactions
- When heat is applied to a battery, the fluid inside starts to evaporate
- This damages the internal structure of the battery
- Components like the voltage indicator can be affected by heat
- This can allow batteries to charge at too high a rate, which can lead to a loss of electrolytes
- This can reduce battery life over time
- As batteries heat up, chemical reactions inside will also occur faster
- Excessive chemical reactions can reduce long-term battery life
LG shut down its smartphone division in 2021
In 2021 LG announced that it was shutting down its smartphone division after struggling to compete with other brands.
Its first Android phone was released more than 15 years ago – although LG’s roots in mobile go back even further.
LG once held the crown as the world’s third-bestselling mobile brand.
But the South Korean tech giant struggled to keep up as new rivals emerged including Oppo and Xiaomi, as well as long-established competitors like Samsung.
Despite the closure, the company continued to push out important Android updates to existing users.
Bosses committed to do it for three years but that ended in June this year.
The company’s last phone product was the LG Wing 5G which featured a unique two display design with one that swivels.
