The Irish Claims Authority offered its support to a couple who claimed the value of their dream £1million home had been significantly slashed after a bungling delivery driver flooded their four-bedroom property with nearly 500 litres of toxic kerosene.
The homeowners claimed they had been left with a pungent smell and contaminated land after the toxic kerosene was accidentally dumped into the wrong tank at their converted barn in South-east England.
The driver accidentally filled an unconnected tank instead of a connected unit, causing 500 litres to leak into the home
The married couple launched a High Court bid against the delivery company because their home was devalued due to the smell and contamination of land since the ‘nightmare’ blunder occurred, and made a ‘personal injury’ claim as the pair were left suffering insomnia and headaches.
The homeowner said it felt like living on a building site after the incident occurred: ‘It was supposed to be our dream home and we had only been living there for a few months before this happened.
‘We bought this as our dream home and it soon turned into a nightmare home in reality.’
The kerosene leak contaminated the couple’s land, including their front lawn, stream and the soil under the house.
The homeowner said the delivery driver had clear instructions to fill the old, connected tank but failed to do this.
She recalled: ‘For whatever reason, maybe the driver was in a hurry, when they delivered the kerosene they were supposed to do a basic check but obviously didn’t do it.
‘I arrived home and I could smell kerosene. I thought I just missed the oil delivery.
‘I went to the tank behind the garage and there was no oil in there. I thought, ‘Oh my god they have delivered it into the wrong tank’.’
The couple came to the Irish Claims Authority for guidance in a true time of need and we happily provided them with the help they needed.
We work very closely with the number one oil spill response team in the UK and Ireland and our connection ensured a successful remediation was carried out, which was the first big step towards helping the couple get back to enjoying life in their dream home again.
