A baby has had its very short life ended and the young parents have suffered a loss that all parents fear, that of the loss of a child.
A faulty boiler explodes and a child dies, not the first even of this kind but surely it should be the last?
The first night in a new house, supplied by the council and this tragedy occurs, but who is responsible for what happened? Had the parents been aware of the dangers of this type of boiler blowing up and raining scalding hot water on their chid it is safe to say that they would not have placed the child in that room in that place, perhaps even refused to move in to the house until it was replaced.
This was a council property, was this their responsibility, especially in the light of the same thing happening four years ago? Surely when a tenant moves out and they take the proerty back then they should check all equipment and replace what needs replacing? They do in my district, well most of the time anyway.
They had knowledge of this happening before, should they have replaced all the boilers of this kind that were in their proerties in order to prevent such a thing happening again instead of keeping quiet about what had happened?
Are the boiler manufacturers at fault for having faulty thermostats? But that would only apply had they been made in this country where they have to pass rigourus tests to obtain the seal of approval.
Personally I believe that the Council should carry the blame for this one for two reasons, one not advising or making it publicly known that these particular types of boliers have a danger of blowing up and two, for not replacing them in the properties that they own and rent out to young couples with young children.
As the courts have so rightly declared, this was an accident waiting to happen that could have been avoided.
2008-01-10 @ 20:45