Fantastic Furniture to recall 100,000 chairs after two people get toes sliced off
Fantastic Furniture will issue a recall on a popular chair after it chopped the toes off two people in separate incidents – the latest being an 11-year-old boy.
Trae McGovern, from the Gold Coast, stubbed his toe on the chair while at a barbecue at a friend’s home in October last year.
He underwent surgery but the part of his second toe that was sliced off could not be reattached.
The incident follows a similar case in April, where Fairfield West man Mark Bulman tripped over the chair in his kitchen.
The sharp metal on the leg of the chair sliced the middle toe on his left foot clean off.
“I’m still not used to having no toe,” Mr Bulman told the Daily Telegraph.
“You expect to feel something and you can’t; but there’s a phantom feeling.”
Fantastic Furniture is set to issue the recall on Monday, which will include approximately 100,000 chairs.
Trae’s mother Jackie Gross told the Telegraph action should have been taken after the first incident.
“This could have been avoided if something had been done after the original accident,” she said.
While Mr Bulman is seeking compensation from the multi-million dollar company, Trae will have to wait to see how the injury will affect his life before he can make a claim.
The chair design known as the ‘Worx’ retails for $39 and is still listed on the manufacturer’s website.
Fantastic CEO Debra Singh said there is a ‘potential issue’ with the chair.
“We want to mitigate any future incidents,” she told the Telegraph.
Customers who have already purchased the design will have to request a modification to the chair to make the design safer. Alternatively they can request a refund.
Mrs Signh said the chair passed safety tests after the first incident.
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News break – January 10
