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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

IKEA injured my child

136 replies

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 08:44

A shelving unit fell on my 3yo child at IKEA through no fault of his own, (confirmed by them with CCTV) it hit him in the head and pinned him against a wire basket by his neck. I was with him so it was mere seconds he was pinned. The shelving unit grazed & bruised his cheek, and the wire basket bruised his shoulder blade. He cried at first, then went into shock for a good 6hrs, then slept for a very long time due to the stress I think. He received first aid at the store, in the form of an ice pack. They also gave him cola moose sweets. An accident form was filled in, I asked for a copy, this was denied. I was polite but firm that I was understandably unhappy and wanted a full investigation into why this happened. I was told they would ring me the following day to check on my child’s well-being. They didn’t. Finding no way of contacting the individual store, I started a case with Resolver, said I wasn’t happy, no one had checked on my child’s well-being, etc. I then received a phone call a few days later from the same staff member who did the first aid. He asked after my child, agreed that he had suffered bruises & was clearly in shock. This was also when he told me CCTV had been reviewed & that it confirmed my son had not caused the shelving unit to fall. I asked why it had fallen, his answer “we don’t know” so I asked that they find out and give me an answer because how is it safe to go there for anyone!? It’s been a month & I’ve not heard anything. I’ve escalated the case with Resolver, but if nothing happens, or I just get an apology, should I just leave it? Is duty of care not a basic thing, or AIBU? His injuries were superficial but It could have been so much worse, it was so close to his eye. Witnesses were very distressed at the time. It was a horrible experience. We’ve not been back since.

OP posts:
Humanwoman · 15/04/2023 09:46

The classic mumsnet pile on Uno reverse quite rare to find one happening in real time.

I'm glad your dc is ok and i don't think you are after compo but your dramatic language hasn't really helped you on this thread. Keep at Ikea as something went wrong with their display and it is on them to stop it from happening again.
I've had to complain about a few things over the years and it's frustrating that the companies inevitably think you are after something and either ignore you or bung you some vouchers when what you want is reassurance that the problem is fixed.

HeckyPeck · 15/04/2023 09:47

OutDamnedSpot · 15/04/2023 09:07

I’m really surprised by some of the answers you’re getting here. It sounds scary and I’m not surprised you want answers about what happened and reassurance it won’t happen again.

I hope DS is okay and that get more information soon.

I'm not surprised. This place seems to be infested with people who love nothing more than deliberately misunderstanding posters and trying to derail threads.

EyesOnThePies · 15/04/2023 09:48

What a horrible experience OP.

Please do report it to the Local Authority as advised.

Obviously this is something that shouldn’t have happened and they need to find out why and how, for future prevention.

Alongside this, I am surprised there are not more injured children in IKEA. Big displays of glassware etc, and numerous families who treat the place like a kids playground. But it’s full of risk. Inexperienced adults stacking heavy flat pack stuff inexpertly on trolleys, I was once struggling with a really long heavy box and a tiny child scooted at speed towards me just as I was turning round with it and I had to struggle hard to avoid hitting him or dropping it on him. Scared me. The parents laughed, he scooted off elsewhere, I wrote to IKEA and said it wasn’t safe to allow kids on scooters in the store.

BellePeppa · 15/04/2023 09:50

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Life changing injuries can happen in seconds. Not saying it happened here but it happens.

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 09:51

SalmonEile · 15/04/2023 09:21

I guess if it was me I’d hope IKEA would say “we’ve reviewed the incident and discovered that the wrong size screw was used to put the shelves together/wrong type of wall bracket/whatever, we’ve implemented extra training for our staff members”
or something along those lines

Yes this!

OP posts:
ExtraOnions · 15/04/2023 09:51

How do you know they are not doing an internal investigation ?

I would imagine they have investigated, just not shared it with you.

The language used, over a fleeting incident, with no real harm done, is what’s making people think “compo face”

HazyDragon · 15/04/2023 09:55

The problem is that the people putting the displayed together are individual people. No matter what policy they put in place, people will still not always follow it.

Well obviously, but you could say that about anything.

Nursery accidentally allowed your 3yo to leave the site at home time, without realising. Well they are just individual people. No matter what policy they put in place, people will not always follow it.

A "sorry, we don't know how that happened" and shug of the shoulders wouldn't be enough for most people would it?

You would want them to investigate what happened and do their upmost to ensure it didn't happen again.

NowZeusHasLainWithLeda · 15/04/2023 09:55

BellePeppa · 15/04/2023 09:50

Life changing injuries can happen in seconds. Not saying it happened here but it happens.

They can indeed.
They didn't in this case.

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 09:56

notsayingmuch · 15/04/2023 09:03

I am sure that posters above understand that the OP is using the word shock to mean the everyday usage of being quiet/withdrawn/upset rather than the medical meaning.

I agree that the store should be treating this as a serious event that should not happen. Children have been killed in stores when fixtures have fallen on them so they need to take this seriously.

Yes shock can mean going mute, withdraw, pale, if I’d meant medical shock I would have stated medical shock, he was like this for 6hrs, then went to sleep for a long time. He was seen by a paramedic at a gp surgery. He was diagnosed as bruised & shocked.

OP posts:
Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 09:58

SunnySaturdayMorning · 15/04/2023 09:07

YABU. They are a business - they do not have a duty of first aid to a customer.

They also do not have to make you aware of any outcome of their investigations.

I might be wrong, but I don’t agree with this.

OP posts:
ExasperatedbyJanuary · 15/04/2023 10:03

@Glassfullofdreams @ExtraOnions
Lots of people happy to ‘imagine’ IKEA have ‘maybe’ investigated this potentially very serious incident. WTF?!

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 10:04

I didn’t mention compensation. I don’t think my language in my OP is dramatic, I’ve stated what happened & tried not to drip feed. Thanks for all the advice. As I said I’ve escalated it with resolver & I’ll see if I get a response. I’m genuinely worried about it happening to anyone else in the future. I will look into how to report it to the LA.

OP posts:
FloatingRodger · 15/04/2023 10:05

Glassfullofdreams · 15/04/2023 09:45

It was a freak accident. It's unfortunate that it happened to your child, but accidents happen. Maybe IKEA did look into the incident and there is honestly no explanation for what happened, hence it being an accident.

Your child clearly wasn't seriously harmed otherwise I'm sure you would have mentioned a trip to A&E in your post.

There's no need to take it any further. It's time to move on. You won't make any money out of it, which is what it sounds like you're hoping for. You don't have to sue someone over every minor incident these days.

So if they conclude that "furniture can fall onto children with no explanation or obvious cause", what changes do you think they need to make in their stores?

Honestly, are people really this hard of thinking?

If it happened again: "oh yes it did happen before but our investigation showed it was a freak accident so we didn't need to do anything about it". Would that cut it with you? I guess they're banking on it.

DuesExMachina · 15/04/2023 10:07

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 10:04

I didn’t mention compensation. I don’t think my language in my OP is dramatic, I’ve stated what happened & tried not to drip feed. Thanks for all the advice. As I said I’ve escalated it with resolver & I’ll see if I get a response. I’m genuinely worried about it happening to anyone else in the future. I will look into how to report it to the LA.

Good for you!

Next child might not be ok but hopefully thanks to you, there won't be a next time

Hibernating80 · 15/04/2023 10:16

Yep exactly I was keeping an eye on her thankfully. Accidents happen in split seconds and I was on the ball, but would have been easy to be off the ball for a split second as well, that's why it's important once risks become incidents to act on them and stop them happening again.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 15/04/2023 10:24

Honestly some of these replies!

Some posters REALLY hate other humans. Or are just wholly self deprecating. Or they’re just so bloody British they spend their lives apologising even when other people are at fault.

Businesses actually DO have a duty of Health and Safety to their customers. Children have the right to go in a shop and not be injured. And when it DOES happen, even if it’s no one’s fault, the victim deserves an explanation as to what they did to fully investigate and what they will change going forward.

ExasperatedbyJanuary · 15/04/2023 10:34

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 15/04/2023 10:24

Honestly some of these replies!

Some posters REALLY hate other humans. Or are just wholly self deprecating. Or they’re just so bloody British they spend their lives apologising even when other people are at fault.

Businesses actually DO have a duty of Health and Safety to their customers. Children have the right to go in a shop and not be injured. And when it DOES happen, even if it’s no one’s fault, the victim deserves an explanation as to what they did to fully investigate and what they will change going forward.

Exactly.

Nearlyneverready · 15/04/2023 10:40

@Bretonbabe Years ago, we had a very similar incident happen at IKEA.

DS was in a high chair in the IKEA restaurant and a freestanding dividing wall fell towards him. Luckily, DS was not hurt. It’s hard to explain, but the wall hit the high chair and the angle was such that DS was underneath it, but it didn’t make contact with him, just the high chair which was trapped between the wall and the booth seating.

It was terrifying at the time. DS was silent initially and we couldn’t immediately see if he was okay. Then he started screaming and I eventually managed to get him out of the chair. I remember shaking while I was holding him.

I was not happy with the way IKEA handled it and I complained. The duty manager and staff came and cleared away the wall, but nobody asked if DS was okay (apart from other customers) and I just left, wanting to get him home. I couldn’t think straight and couldn’t stop thinking about the “what ifs”

I reported the incident to the local council (I think) and also emailed a complaint to IKEA HQ.

From there, I had a series of very apologetic phone calls. They offered to meet either in store or at my home. They told me that all IKEA stores followed the same plan, so following the incident, the same dividing walls had been checked at the other stores. They had found that the other walls were okay, but that this particular wall had fallen because it had not been secured to the floor correctly.

You must have been very scared and I’m sorry your DC was hurt. Please do report it. x

SunnySaturdayMorning · 15/04/2023 10:45

EsmeSusanOgg · 15/04/2023 09:14

What nonesense are you spouting!? They have a duty to make sure their displays are put together and secured in such a way as they do not fall onto children. If an incident occurs, they are legally obliged to note it in an incident report/ accident book. If they do not, they are in breach of the Health and Safety Act, which is why people are saying OP should contact the HSE who investigate breaches.

There’s no nonsense. You didn’t read what I said.

Yes, IKEA does have a duty to make sure their shop is secure. That’s as standard.

No, they do not have a duty to perform first aid on a customer. Employees who are first aid trained are trained for the welfare of their staff. If they give first aid to a customer it is as a courtesy and not as a necessity.

No, they do not have a duty to report the incident in an accident book. They are not in breech of any HsE regulations by not doing so. See here:

“Accidents to members of the public or others who are not at work must be reported if they result in an injury and the person is taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury. Examinations and diagnostic tests do not constitute 'treatment' in such circumstances.

There is no need to report incidents where people are taken to hospital purely as a precaution when no injury is apparent.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reportable-incidents.htm

Reportable incidents - RIDDOR - HSE

This page explains the types of incidents that are reportable under RIDDOR.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reportable-incidents.htm

NowZeusHasLainWithLeda · 15/04/2023 10:53

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 10:04

I didn’t mention compensation. I don’t think my language in my OP is dramatic, I’ve stated what happened & tried not to drip feed. Thanks for all the advice. As I said I’ve escalated it with resolver & I’ll see if I get a response. I’m genuinely worried about it happening to anyone else in the future. I will look into how to report it to the LA.

The fact you've now stated you did have the child seen by medical professionals at the time means you do have a paper trail.

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 11:42

Nearlyneverready · 15/04/2023 10:40

@Bretonbabe Years ago, we had a very similar incident happen at IKEA.

DS was in a high chair in the IKEA restaurant and a freestanding dividing wall fell towards him. Luckily, DS was not hurt. It’s hard to explain, but the wall hit the high chair and the angle was such that DS was underneath it, but it didn’t make contact with him, just the high chair which was trapped between the wall and the booth seating.

It was terrifying at the time. DS was silent initially and we couldn’t immediately see if he was okay. Then he started screaming and I eventually managed to get him out of the chair. I remember shaking while I was holding him.

I was not happy with the way IKEA handled it and I complained. The duty manager and staff came and cleared away the wall, but nobody asked if DS was okay (apart from other customers) and I just left, wanting to get him home. I couldn’t think straight and couldn’t stop thinking about the “what ifs”

I reported the incident to the local council (I think) and also emailed a complaint to IKEA HQ.

From there, I had a series of very apologetic phone calls. They offered to meet either in store or at my home. They told me that all IKEA stores followed the same plan, so following the incident, the same dividing walls had been checked at the other stores. They had found that the other walls were okay, but that this particular wall had fallen because it had not been secured to the floor correctly.

You must have been very scared and I’m sorry your DC was hurt. Please do report it. x

That’s horrible, glad your child was ok, but clearly affected as mine was. I was shaking too & just wanted to leave. Worrying to hear a similar story. I will definitely report it.

OP posts:
BerryPieandCustard · 15/04/2023 11:59

A few years back a Mirror fell on a young child in a store close to me (not an IKEA) and the child subsequently died from the injuries caused.

please push this with them to investigate why this happened and understand the importance of securing their items so this doesn’t happen again

HarlanPepper · 15/04/2023 12:19

Bretonbabe · 15/04/2023 10:04

I didn’t mention compensation. I don’t think my language in my OP is dramatic, I’ve stated what happened & tried not to drip feed. Thanks for all the advice. As I said I’ve escalated it with resolver & I’ll see if I get a response. I’m genuinely worried about it happening to anyone else in the future. I will look into how to report it to the LA.

You don't report it to the LA, you report it to the HSE, using the link several people have posted. You will not get any further with IKEA via 'resolver'.

alyceflowers · 15/04/2023 12:30

So bizarre that people think furniture falling on you/your child is just a normal risk of going into a shop, and huge multinational corporations have no responsibility to prevent 'freak accidents'.

DogInATent · 15/04/2023 13:08

HarlanPepper · 15/04/2023 12:19

You don't report it to the LA, you report it to the HSE, using the link several people have posted. You will not get any further with IKEA via 'resolver'.

It's a retail premises. You report it to the Local Authority. The HSE isn't responsible for this premises.

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