What are the next steps after a restaurant highchair accident?

[BessieBye]

This evening we went to a local restaurant that we go to a fair bit. We had pre booked the table so it was set out with a highchair for my 7 month old DS

About 5 minutes after sitting down, my DH put my son into the highchair. For clarity it was an IKEA highchair with no tray, so the chair was tucked under and his body close to the table.

A minute later, the highchair fell to the floor - with my son in it. Turns out, the highchair only had 3 legs, one had been detached. The front left leg was missing so we did not notice as it was already tucked half under the table.

He fell still in the sitting position within the highchair and hit his head - it has a red mark and we have been to A&E, he’s fine. His chin must’ve missed the table by a cm.

My parents were with us and my Dad is ready to start WW3 and he told them to expect to hear from a solicitor. Manager of restaurant accepted that the leg was missing and it was their fault.

We left very soon after and obviously for me it is all a blur

My question is, will a solicitor actually achieve anything here? Is it worth it? He wants to pursue negligence

I am too shocked to be angry right now, I burst into tears everytime it replays in my head. I thought I was going to be physically sick.

thanks for any advice

Haven’t read the whole thread but you’re getting some really unsympathetic replies. What a horrible experience, really upsetting. Like the pp I would be furious although I understand you’re too upset to be at the moment. I wouldn’t sue, but I would expect the restaurant to be falling over themselves with apologies and assurances, and I’d also expect some bloody sympathy on here. Just seen someone call you disgusting. Wtaf?

The unsympathetic replies (fairly few) are probably because she posted in legal matters - she didn’t ask for sympathy, she asked for legal advice/next steps.

If you're going to be so unkind, at least make sure what you are saying is factually correct.

But I’m assuming you could see the legs if you’d checked?

Why does everyone want to sue all the time? There’s no long lasting damage and an apology would be fine for me and some sort of reassurance they’d learnt from it

The Environmental Health Office (EHO) at your local council is the primary agency responsible for enforcing health and safety laws designed to protect customers. They investigate complaints and conduct routine inspections to ensure businesses are not putting the public at risk.

The EHO covers a wide range of customer safety issues including:
Food Safety & Hygiene: Ensuring restaurants, cafes, and food vendors are preparing and storing food safely.
Premises Hazards: Investigating slips, trips, or other physical hazards in customer-facing businesses (like shops, pubs, and care facilities).
Hygiene Standards: Monitoring public spaces like tattoo parlors, nail salons, and swimming pools for infection risks.