Retail giant The Warehouse has made a secret payment to a child badly burnt when his pyjamas caught fire. The Dominion Post has learnt The Warehouse has set up a fund for the victim, who was injured when his pyjamas - bought from one of its stores - was set alight by a heater.
But the money, to be paid into a trust fund for the child, came with a gagging clause - forbidding the family from confirming the payment or discussing the fire. The family was "paid to shut up", the source said. The family risked facing legal action if they failed to adhere to The Warehouse's conditions. The Consumers Institute says the claims are disturbing and any agreement to silence the family is "poor form" by the company.
The Warehouse is refusing to confirm or deny the payout, with spokeswoman Cynthia Church saying setting up a trust fund would be a highly unusual approach by the company. "Any agreement would be confidential," she said. "Therefore I cannot disclose any information at all as to the nature or even the existence of an agreement."
Since 2004 at least four children, aged between three and 10, sitting in front of heaters have been burnt when their pyjamas caught fire. The victims included four-year-old Corwin Bridge who died from burns in July. The same month, Waikato three-year-old Jack Livingstone suffered burns to 15 per cent of his body and needed skin grafts to repair his shoulder and arm. Several parents say the low-fire-danger tag on the clothing is misleading and labels need to be more specific.
Consumers Institute chief executive Sue Chetwin said any deal binding a victim's family to silence was most disturbing. Any sort of agreement setting up a fund for a burns victim should be done on the basis that that was why it was being done, not because the store did not want them talking, she said. The Consumer Affairs Ministry conducted two separate inquiries, in 2004 and 2007, after the fire incidents. At least three involved pyjamas bought at The Warehouse. Both inquiries were investigated by the Commerce Commission, which ruled that the nightwear complied with product safety standards.
The ministry, which sets the standards for product safety, is reviewing the results and whether or not regulations relating to the labelling of children's nightwear need to be changed. The ministry hopes to report to minister Judith Tizard with recommendations by March.
The pyjamas were pulled from the shelves during this year's investigation but were back on sale shortly after the commission cleared them. The Warehouse has confirmed they will be sold again next winter but the company will put labels on all children's pyjamas saying: Stay a metre from the heater from next March.
Ms Church agrees with parents that having low-fire-danger on labels gives parents a false sense of security. "They read low-fire-danger and they believe it means the pyjamas can't catch fire."
