Radiator fell off wall onto my son

tanmu

Can anyone offer any advice.....this afternoon the double radiator in one of our downstairs reception rooms (which we currently use as a playroom) fell off the wall when my son put his plastic chair against it and leant on it to write on a picture on the wall above it. It banged his arm and fell on his legs trapping him. Fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt, but the landlord is insisting that the radiators were all fine and that they would only come off if pulled on with excessive force. My son is 5yrs old and barely weighs 3 stones. There is no way, in my opinion, that a 5yr old should be able to pull a radiator off a wall - the plaster has even come away in chunks. He is coming over tomorrow to have a look so I just want to know what anyone else thinks about it all

GDB2222

Take some photos. What were the brackets screwed into? Brickwork? IF there's a dispute about liability, you'll need a builder to have a look and advise you.

tanmu

It looks to me like the brackets were screwed into plasterboard. Could we be liable for the cost of repairing it? It seems to me that if a radiator could fall off the wall by a small child leaning onto it then it can't have been hung properly in the first place.

Lotus-eater

Keep one of the plugs safe that screwed it into the plasterboard, what do they look like btw? They should have used special plasterboard fixings.

Sounds like it might be a new house?

tanmu

There are actually no plugs, they are large screws with a normal screw end but also a bit at the end that protrudes and is a W shape. It is a new build house, the plaster is actually only about an inch and a half thick, you can see an empty cavity through the holes

SABJ

is your concern that you will have to pay to get it fixed ? or is it that you want compensating for the upset? hope u get sorted soon let us know how you get on

jenny74

Definately take photos, LOTS of them, make sure you can see that the screws are straight into the plaster board. It seems that it is poor workmanship.

It also souns like it should be YOU sueing them (the landlord who wll have to counter-sue the builder). For injury/stress etc caused to your son.

Good luck and keep us posted.

J

tanmu

The main concern is paying for it to be fixed we're not concerned about compensation at all. The main gripe is that we pay alot of money (mostly due to our area but there is no choice in our neck of the woods and we moved here for a better job) in rent and we have cardboard walls that are seemingly inadequate for the task, and when things fail due to the poor quality we're assumed liable. New build houses feel like being a bull in a china shop but the china shop is actually a bulls house (if you know what I mean?!). I'm tanmu's husband, i'm six foot tall, 13 stone and athletically average, I think I would have to try hard to pull a radiator off a wall, a five year old? But saying all this I don't think it's all a new build house issue, just poor fittings, whose to blame?

SABJ

im glad you said it was just to get it fixed so many people want compo these days, is the landlord not insured for these types of things i would do like the other posters say and take as many pics as poss do you not know a builder or someone professional who can look or be there when the landlord comes just so you have a witness handy at what was said good luck i really do wish u all the best

ruggedtoast

tanmu wrote: »

The main concern is paying for it to be fixed we're not concerned about compensation at all. The main gripe is that we pay alot of money (mostly due to our area but there is no choice in our neck of the woods and we moved here for a better job) in rent and we have cardboard walls that are seemingly inadequate for the task, and when things fail due to the poor quality we're assumed liable. New build houses feel like being a bull in a china shop but the china shop is actually a bulls house (if you know what I mean?!). I'm tanmu's husband, i'm six foot tall, 13 stone and athletically average, I think I would have to try hard to pull a radiator off a wall, a five year old? But saying all this I don't think it's all a new build house issue, just poor fittings, whose to blame?

Dont admit any liability. Insist that the radiator wasnt properly fixed and that they all be made safe.

IMO on no account get into any arguments about how hard you should have to pull for it to come off. Just state the facts and stick to them.

paintpot

I couldn't say precisely how a radiator should be affixed to a wall in a new build construction. Perhaps you could get an independent opinion on that from a plumber/corgi engineer who installs cental heating. Maybe a plumber/corgi guy or someone who knows their stuff will answer on here or start another thread to ask that question posting how it WAS affixed.

Take photos of the damage etc and the fixings as has been suggested.

When the landlord sees the evidence then they may well be as horrified as you if it becomes clear that the radiators have not been affixed correctly. You may have just got an off the cuff reaction from the LL. Until they see the evidence they aren't in a position to comment as s/he would not have seen what isgoing on behind the radiator or how they were affiixed I would imagine they probably believed they were "solidly" fitted. Not many people I would imagine go round tugging on radiators to see if they are going to fall off.

A landlord has a duty of care to their tenants and therefore if it does become evident that they aren't affixed correctly then the landlord should take remedial action in respect of checking the others in the property.

If the landlord is hostile and dismissive during your meeting tomorrow and you have gathered further information that suggests you are correct in your thoughts that the rads aren't affixed correctly then post back on here and you will get further advice. I would suggest a calm and factual discussion at the meeting tomorrow. Any action after that if required should then be in writing.

If it is a newbuild then the landlord may have recourse back to builder or NHBC guarantee to correct the problem subject to the results of your findings. That however is not your concern in so much as how it is funded if the radiators need to be refixed.

The fact the landlord is coming round shows interest on their part.

Let us know how you get on.