[07 NOV 00] CRIMES, FIRES & ACCIDENTS
Big Fine For 'Lethal' Cancer Machine Claims

Directors of a firm which claimed that a machine could help relieve a Rugby man’s terminal cancer when in fact it was dangerous to use and caused him severe pain have been fined £14,500.

Leslie Goodall and Guy Stanway both pleaded guilty to two offences relating to the sale of a Plasmafire Ozone Generator and Steam Cabinet at Rugby Magistrates court.

Their company, Plasmafire (UK), pleaded guilty to a further three offences. The complaints concerned the Plasmafire 600 system comprising of a Plasmafire Ozone Generator (Model 600) and a Plasmafire Steam Cabinet (Sonnet II).

The machines were supplied to Geoff Fielding after his desperate family decided to try and get something to help him when he was suffering from bone cancer last year.

After reading an advert in the Sunday Times, the family contact Goodall and explained their problem, and he sold them the machines for over £5,000.

He said that he had known instances of the machine curing cancer, although he did not claim it would cure Mr Fielding’s illness.

But each time Mr Fielding used the machine it caused him extreme pain and burned him. Goodall insisted that the pain would be worthwhile and that Mr Fielding should persist with the treatment.

Mr Fielding died after his third session on the machine, which left him in such pain that he was give extra medication by his doctor.

It was only when his son-in-law Denis Gorman was removing the machine that he found a health warning on the back stressing that elderly or infirm people should not use it.

Trading Standards were called in and successfully prosecuted the company, Goodall and Stanway. To advertise that any product can treat or cure cancer is an offence under the Cancer Act 1939.

Independent tests revealed that the machine was hazardous and potentially lethal.

If the machine was used according to the instructions, it could cause an air embolism which could lead to serious injury and death. The device could be dangerous to someone in poor health, causing severe systematic stress.

In addition, the product was not effectively earthed, leaving the user open to possible electrocution, and produced steam at a temperature which could scald.

Leslie Ian Goodall, of Compton Wolverhampton, was sentenced to 200 hours community service, fined £2000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £8,103 after pleading guilty to two offences under the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 and the Fair Trading Act 1974.

Guy Mathew Stanway, of Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, also pleaded guilty to the same offences and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £2000 costs. He also agreed to pay compensation to the family of £5052.50.

Plasmafire (UK) Ltd was fined £11,000, the statutory maximum, and ordered to pay £1,000 costs after pleading guilty to offences under the Cancer Act 1939, the Fair Trading Act 1974 and the General Product Safety Regulations 1994.

District Judge Nuttall expressed his sympathy to the family and told Goodall that he had been callous to sell such a machine when he had taken no steps to check the safety of the equipment, and when it was clear that the machine was lethal.

He said that although the machine had in no way caused Mr Fielding’s death, it was clear Mr Fielding had suffered as a result of using the machine.

He added that a prison sentence would be justified under these circumstances, but that Mr Goodall's previously good character had been taken into account when passing sentence.

Mr Gorman said it had been a very traumatic time for his family. He said:

“We have got Christian principles in this family and we raised this to make sure that it doesn’t happen to anybody else.

“We didn’t do this to get compensation and we will not be taking a civil action out.”

Commenting on the case Noel Hunter, Director of Warwickshire Trading Standards, said:

"Marketing and selling a product which claims to treat cancer is a serious enough offence in itself, but when it is then revealed that the machine which claims to offer help to cancer sufferers has instead the potential to injure or kill them, this is indeed shocking.

“We are pleased that we have secured a successful conviction in this case and have removed a potentially lethal device from the UK market place."