Posted on 07/24/2006 6:12:21 AM PDT by Samwise
INDIANAPOLIS -- A 3-year-old boy was fatally injured when a floor-mounted mirror fell on him at an Indianapolis Wal-Mart.
Police said Christopher Antonio was apparently playing near the 5-foot-tall mirror in the children's section of the store Saturday evening when it fell at the store in the 3200 block of 86th Street.
The boy was with his 5-year-old sister and his mother. The mother told police she was about 5 feet away from her son when she heard a loud crash.
Police said it took two people to pull the mirror off the boy.
That's not making light of the situation because, alas, that is becoming more and more the nature of our society.
Thanks....I was trying to imagine what kind of large mirror would be in the childrens dept. I guess childrens dept. is clothing, not toys, so maybe it was like a partician between sections....what a nightmare for that mom.
I'm thinking it was a mirror that one would use after trying on clothing. The child might come out of the dressing room to show the other parent or grandparent and have the full length mirror for modeling.
All a disclaimer will do is limit the payout some and only if a judge sympathizes with the store.
It won't matter whose fault it is.Unless Wal Mart has a film of the parent actually pushing the mirror onto the child,the family will get big $$$$....most likely as the result of a private settlement.
After all,can you imagine the river of tears that would be shed during a trial? And can you imagine the effect that these tears will have on the jurors when they deciding just how to punish "big,bad Wal Mart"?
Televisions...mirrors...nothing is safe anymore.
How about giving the child a nice, fun ride in the carriage -- which, coincidentally, has a little seat just the right size! That way, junior won't get himself into trouble while mommy's attention is diverted from supervision to comparing prices.
Some things are obvious. Or used to be.
From an attorney's perspective, rest assured that they certainly will. Contributory negligence went out the window over thirty years ago, however, and was replaced by comparative negligence. Thus, any recovery by the boy's parents will be reduced by the percentage of fault apportioned to him/his parents by a jury.
That said, this is not the kind of case you want to go to a jury. Wal-Mart will most likely settle.
I know. But if the child was crawling all over something he should not have been, and the mother was not watching him, maybe, just maybe, someone like me would be on the jury. I believe in personal responsibility, no matter how sad the situation is.
Here is a thought. Being judged by "peers" has been so tightly defined in todays courtroom, that if a black person is on trial, they have to have a black jury, if a hispanic is on trial, there must be hispanics...etc.
Wal-Mart should have "big" businessmen and women on their jury. Seems fair.
"Why was the mother of a 3 year old 5 feet away--at a Walmart?"
Why was a very heavy mirror a child could pull over on himself placed in the children's section?
WM is very careful about the safety of children. When I watch my grandchildren I am usually about 10 feet behind them. I told them it is like herding stray cats. During a typical store tour about 10 people will ask them where their parents or grandparents are.
If a child is lost, the store is locked and the aisles are combed methodically. They have stopped actual cases of abuse doing this.
Obviously someone was lax about securing the mirror. They are liable.
Thanks for your knowledgeable perspective!
Still sad that Wal-Mart may have to settle. They will, and prices will just go up for everyone once again.
I have also been to Wal Mart and I have seen how the mirrors are set in the clothing sections.
It is likely that the mirror was hanging without much support and fell from the nails or clips which were used to secure it.
If that is the case, in no way is it the parent's fault.
You misread. The mirror obviously came to life and fell onto the child of its own accord.
I'm sure it's all captured on the security tape.
Sad, for sure...there goes Walmart's profit for this year...
Why was a very heavy mirror a child could pull over on himself placed in the children's section?
This is the crux of the matter. A heavy object, something which requires 2 adults to lift, should be secure enough that it doesn't fall over - regardless of who was near it, whether they are playing, walking by, or bumping into it with a shopping cart. I'm the first one to assign parental responsibility where it is warranted but, from the information here, WalMart was negligent.
Like a scene out of a disaster movie -- all the personal injury lawyers in the country celphones rang at once.
Prayers for the family and their friends.
Vigilance! ...constant and determined. Terrorists today wear many masks.
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