Besmirched buggy manufacturer Maclaren has agreed to compensate more than 40 UK children whose fingers were seriously injured by pushchairs’ hinges.
Many of the children, who were aged between one and eight at the time, lost part of their finger joint when the buggies were unfolded, needing urgent operations to reattach joints or skin grafts. Others suffered broken bones or deep cuts which left scars and, in some cases, permanent loss of feeling or disfigurement.
The settlement, which allows Maclaren to deny full liability, was not expected by parents and market experts as the manufacturer had vehemently refuted parents’ accusations over health and safety.
Those children wounded, including several who became amputees, will receive full damage awards, ranging from £2,500 to £10,000 depending on the extent of their injuries, with compensation invested until they reach 18 years of age.
A Maclaren spokeswoman claimed that the company would look into each case, stating: "We are committed to fully recompense any child who's been genuinely injured by finger entrapment in one of our products."
"We have sold more than a million buggies in the past decade in the UK and have only had around 100 complaints,” she added. “We feel this issue affects the whole industry and not just Maclaren."
The company’s global reputation has been heavily damaged recently. In America, Maclaren is facing a class action lawsuit from parents across the country whose children were badly injured, with accidents dating back to 2003.
So far, Maclaren has recalled more than one million buggies in the US but maintains British models are not as liable to cause injury, releasing specialised hinge covers to worried parents instead.
“Millions of buggies remain in use and despite claims from Maclaren that there are insufficient cases in the UK to warrant a recall, injuries still occur,” argued solicitors acting on behalf of those affected in the UK.
“Any injury from a pushchair's folding mechanism may get compensation and there are cases involving other makes too. Manufacturers need to know there is a serious issue which must be addressed with more decisive action.”