Woman awarded £150,000 after LG phone sparks fire in her home

A woman 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.

Denise Parks and her husband Robert were in bed at their house in Coatbridge when a fire broke out in the living room at about 03:00 on 31 October 2018.

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 court heard Ms Parks was treated for smoke inhalation after the fire.

She had a history of panic attacks and anxiety which worsened after the incident.

As a result of the fire, she was 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.

The court heard that a laptop and two mobile phones, a Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG K8, were left charging on a couch before the couple went to bed.

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.

This is when an insurer, after paying out for a claim, inherits the rights of the insured to claim against the responsible party.

In 2021 LG announced that it was shutting down its smartphone division after struggling to compete with other brands.