Exploding Shower Screen

Agentmatt

We received delivery of a new shower screen just the other day.  

Installation was going as expected and we were at the final stage of putting down the sealant to finish the job. Only for the screen to suddenly explode. Damaging the newly installed sink cupboard, mirror and ceiling not to mention covering us both in glass and cuts. One very bad cut to both hands and a few to my arm.    

The screen was installed correctly and was not under load and any set point of the screen.  We also have another screen from the same company and that was installed int the same way and has been In since April 2919.

i have spoken to other plumbers I know and they have all said it should not have happened or is very rare.

Can this just happen? What are our rights to a replacement / refund / discount?  

The reply from the company was a simple “not our problem”.  

GDB2222

I'm really sorry you were hurt.

Your recourse is different if you are a consumer or a business. However, it's almost impossible to say after the event what caused this. A manufacturing problem, possibly, or a tiny installation error.

It's worth googling. This is one article:
https://www.thespruce.com/glass-shower-door-shattered-by-itself-3972517

ytfcmad

One of two things caused this.
1, An inclusion within the toughened glass, that's what we in the trade call it or sometimes a seed. It's a very tiny imperfection in the glass, the change in temperature basically mixed with the inclusion makes the glass explode.
2, A very slight knock to the glass in the exact right place.  You can wallop a piece of toughened glass with a hammer and it wont break but a slight tap on the edge or close will make it go off like a bomb.  
Toughened glass is often referred to as safety glass so shouldn't of been very sharp? 

Here's a little fact for you, when a bit of toughened glass breaks the cracks travel at the speed of sound hence the almost sonic boom sound you get when it goes off. 

searchlight123

we had this happen to us with a shower screen that had been in place for a few years. my wife was getting out of the shower and opened the screen in the usual manner and it literally just shattered into a million small pieces. she was covered in glass and had minor cuts to both arms. our close by vanity unit got badly scratched in the incident also so the glass must fly off at some rate!

Mistral001

It appears that the OP installed the screen themselves.  If that is the case, you should contact your household insurance company.  If they cannot help you, then it looks like you cannot do very much other than try to sue the manufacturer. or supplier  However, hard evidence that there was a fault in the glass would be hard to find among the thousands of pieces.