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

Wow, the posters saying you just need to get over it presumably either don't have children, were terribly uncaring parents, or if I'm being charitable can't remember what it's like to have a tiny vulnerable baby. You're absolutely NOT being unreasonable but unfortunately you probably don't have much of a legal case. I'd be absolutely raging if I were you though - maybe look at contacting the health & safety executive. A business that negligent should be fined for a H&S breach at best, if not shut down. Your baby could have been seriously hurt - an apology from the restaurant is just not good enough.

A 3 legged high chair is negligence, not an accident. I would never return to that restaurant and I doubt you would be able to bring yourself to go back anyway.

If they get a solicitor. And if they do that’s a choice you can make at that time. A letter costs only a first class stamp and they might just send you a cheque. Even getting a solicitor to respond to you will probably cost them more than £500.

”Your child fell over and hit his head because we provided a high chair with only three legs but we owe you nothing at all” isn’t a sympathetic line.

I have worked in restaurants for years, and havent RTFT.

The key point is, was the fourth leg there and it broke when your son was in it, or was it not there when they tucked it under the table so they KNEW that it was broken. Where was the fourth leg?

Former, take them to the cleaners. Latter, put it down to bad luck and one of those things.

They might make a goodwill gesture, as PPs have said. But why would anyone give in to a hopeless and misguided legal claim?

Hopefully in doing something proactive like thos, you will feel some closure.
I'm sorry you and your baby had to go through this xx

How awful, I can't understand how they even put it out with 3 legs! How did they react, have they offered you anything? Glad your child is ok, must have been really scary and upsetting.

I would have said this is clearly an accident. No one would intentionally put a high chair with 3 legs out in a restaurant at work. I understand your anger being a parent to a baby, but I would thank my lucky stars that my child is ok and move on with my life. I can’t see any benefit of suing - especially given the fact your child is ok. And even if you did sue, what do you want to come out of it? No amount of money will take back the accident.

Fourth leg was next to the station where the staff greet you. Where they keep the menus etc. My parents noticed it and queried it after I’d already walked out

I'm pleased that the last few posts have been understanding / helpful, @BessieBye
I can't believe most of them, practically BLAMING you for your little baby being hurt.. what a terrible shock for you all.
OBVIOUSLY it was known that the chair was broken, & pushed against the table to hide it. What were the staff THINKING?
I'm so sorry this happened to your family, I would be beside myself too, thinking of the what if's..
As for the posters more or less saying 'so what? Just an accident' I hope you weren't so laissez faire with your own babies, for Heaven's sake.

Because “we provided your child a high chair with only three legs and, predictably, it fell over and he hit his head and got taken to hospital but we owe you nothing at all” is a bad look.

They'd probably get back a sympathetic letter that also asks them to please forward invoices of expenses incurred as a result of the accident for reimbursement. If there aren't any, they aren't owing anything other than an apology, reassurance that this won't happen again and how they are making sure of that. A free meal would also be nice.

Maybe. But it only costs a first class stamp to find out.

I am not after money, have mentioned this many times. I’m not sure what I want but an apology doesn’t feel enough.. like PPs have said, maybe the restaurant being proactive or reporting to H&S will be enough.

I’m just here for advice, not to argue with anyone that I deserve a pay out.

Then they knowingly used dangerous equipment. I know of a colleague who's next employer was sued because a chair collapsed under a customer, and the customer won.

I would definitely get legal advice.

A big problem in hospitality these days is that the vast majority of employees are school leavers so they dont think that this stuff matters, they have no experience. The boss says "just sort it" so they bodge and dont think it through.

Don’t be silly. So you’re suggesting the waiting staff saw the chair had three legs, thought, ‘oh I can’t be arsed sorting that out, a three legged high chair will be fine, what could possibly go wrong’…..

But the OP has already said there was mo personal injury.

Is everything about money? :-(
I'd be wanting to see, at the very least, a shiny new chair, & to know this couldn't happen to anyone else's child, because that one might not be so lucky.

A free meal there would choke me, tbh.

Thank you so much for this 😭 the decent, helpful, well wishing comments have definitely outweighed the terrible ones now. But it’s the terrible ones that kick you whilst your down isn’t it…

OP says the fourth leg was propped in a corner somewhere.

I imagine what happened was a staff member was assembling the chair (legs clip on and off easily - I have this same chair and I usually keep it with the legs off to save space), got called away mid-task and either tucked the chair under the table intending to get back to it, but forgot, OR they left the chair out, intending to get back to it and another member of staff tucked it under the table, not realising it was missing a leg.

Negligent for sure, but not malicious and I can easily see how it might happen in a busy restaurant.

OP, I would ask the manger to have a stern talk with staff to make sure it doesn't happen again, and then I would try and put it out of my mind as much as possible. I'm glad your baby is ok.

Yeah, that does happen. Especially when the staff member is 16, getting shit off their crappy boss and being paid next to nothing. All they are thinking about is "ok, I sorted all the tables and my shift ends in ten minutes".

ETA Or the boss doing it, because (usually) he doesnt give a fuck, seen that more often.

This is not about money for me, no

They wouldn’t say that. They’d say “we don’t know how this high chair lost a leg but we take it very seriously, are sorry it happened and everyone’s glad there was no serious outcome”.

I agree. I was just suggesting what you could tell your Father. Other people are probably right; if there’s no injury then you can’t win any claim in court. Just being upset doesn’t count. But if he’s really fired up he can write.

They might. Or they might send you a £100. Especially if you point out that there’s no way a staff member could have replaced the chair under the table without knowing it had a leg missing. There’s one way to find out for sure.