A popular Sheffield businessman and father of three died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to incorrect assembly of a common gas camping lamp.
That is the verdict of the jury at the inquest of Paul Griffiths, in Chesterfield County Court yesterday (22 December).
Paul Griffiths, aged just 43, used a Campingaz Lumostar C270PZ gas lamp during a family camping holiday in Over Haddon, Derbyshire in July 2007. Paul lit his gas lamp one evening during his camping trip before retreating to bed in his tent. The next morning, he was dead.
The verdict of the inquest was that Paul died from carbon monoxide toxicity partly due to a lamp that was capable of misassembly, a further contributing factor was insufficient ventilation in the tent.
Paul's family believe that the lamp poses a potential risk to other campers using the model who may accidently position the shade in the same unsafe position. The inquest heard evidence that carbon monoxide is a colourless odourless gas which in sufficiently high concentrations can cause unconsciousness after 30 minutes or less.
The family of Paul Griffiths were represented by Holly Dobson, litigation solicitor at Sheffield firm Wake Smith & Tofields. Holly commented:
"This lamp apparently operated normally even though it was misassembled. Someone using that misassembled lamp who either hadn't assembled it themselves or had misassembled it without realising would be unaware that it was not safe. We are pleased that the inquest jury has come to this verdict and are very relieved that the Coroner is to make a number of recommendations to promote safety for the future. It has been a long battle over the last two and a half years for the family to reach this point."
Paul's brother Richard Griffiths has helped to lead the campaign to raise awareness of the events surrounding Paul's death. Richard added: "If the lamp had had a safety mechanism to ensure the correct positioning of the glass shade Paul would not have died. We know that, despite the fact a new model of this lamp is now available, the old model has not been withdrawn and is still available for purchase. We have seen that some of these are sold with the glass shade already in the incorrect position. It is nearly two and a half years since Paul's death, and during that time Campingaz neither recalled the lamp nor issued any warnings to consumers. We are shocked that a manufacturer of gas products has had to be asked by the Coroner to take action."
The Coroner stated that he will be writing to the manufacturers of the lamp, Coleman, with a recommendation that they provide an information leaflet to retailers to ensure that consumers are made aware that the Campingaz Lumostar C270PZ is capable of being assembled in a way that causes it to generate carbon monoxide, and that they understand that the glass shade must sit firmly down over the retaining clips. He will also recommend that all marketing images used of lamp must show it in the condition it should be used in.
The manufacturer will have 52 days to respond to these recommendations.
The Coroner has also stated that he will be writing to the British Standards Institute with his recommendations that a fixed, permanent label should be attached to all tents, warning of the hazards exposed in the inquest. He will also recommend that the ventilation conditions are described clearly and consistently on the packaging of gas lamps, and in the user instructions.
For further information, please contact Holly Dobson on 0114 266 6660 or email [email protected].
