Widow blames British Gas after hot water cost husband his leg

A WIDOW who claims her husband lost his leg after suffering severe burns from water heated by a faulty thermostat is suing British Gas.

Melvyn Kaufman, a diabetic who was an optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, had surgery in 2012 after burning his foot as he was cleaning it in a basin of hot water at his home, a court heard.

Mr Kaufman, who had already had a leg amputated as a teenager, was unable to feel the temperature of the water because his diabetic condition caused a lack of sensation “at extremities”, Central London County Court was told.

He died from unrelated reasons aged 72 in 2016.

Now his widow, Clare Kaufman, is suing British Gas for more than £100,000 on behalf of her husband’s estate, claiming that his injuries were the result of a defective thermostat on a boiler that the company’s engineers had installed and serviced.

Her legal team argues that the actions of the engineer who fitted the boiler at their house, in Barnet, north London, during a British Gas Homecare visit the previous day, led to the water coming from the hot tap at unsafe temperatures. However, British

Gas claims Mr Kaufman contributed to the impact of the accident by delaying going to hospital because he wanted to watch a football match on television.

Daniel Tobin, representing British Gas, said: “There is no evidence to indicate that the boiler malfunctioned or generated water hotter than the setting on the boiler thermostat. There is also no evidence of poor practice in the manner the boiler was installed, commissioned or maintained.”

He added: “He didn’t go to hospital immediately because he wanted to stay home and watch the football.”

The court heard that Mrs Kaufman, 71, did not realise how hot the water was because she always washed in cold water.

She told the court she sent an engineer to check the temperature of their hot water after the incident and that it was recorded as being at 80 to 83C (176 to 181F). She added: “That’s what the engineer told me – I wrote it down in my Filofax. He was so alarmed he gave me his private mobile number and said ring him any time and he wouldn’t leave the house until he’s run off all the hot water because it was too hot. Anything above 55C can cause a scald.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know they could occur at such low temperatures.”

The hearing continues.