Replies

Yes, my comment was callous and it was meant to be. But it also should bring home the point that parents need to watch their kids, assuming, of course, that the kid was playing with, or on, the mirror. Sadly, some parents will not control, or monitor, their children's actions, and will quickly blame others when things go wrong. I sincerely do hope that is no the case here, but if it is, these parents need to take responsibility and not try to hit the lawsuit lottery. If the mirror was improperly or insufficiently secured, then Wal Mart needs to bear responsibility. However, I don't think Wal Mart should be responsible for designing and installing mirrors that will withstand being played with by children. It's common sense not to let your kids play with such things. And sadly, that is something becoming rarer and rarer in ths country.

There is nothing in tis story that says the child was playing WITH the mirror - yet that is your working assumption.

Since you have the power of clairvoyance, could you tell me this week's upcoming Powerball drawing?

I don't think Wal Mart should be responsible for designing and installing mirrors that will withstand being played with by children. It's common sense not to let your kids play with such things.

How do you know the kid was playing? If the mirror was properly secured, then how could a 3 year old have been strong enough to cause it to fall? Especially if it took two adults to lift it off his body. Presumably they were in the clothing section when this happened, so this wasn't a dangerous area. A person should be able to turn their head for a few moments without worrying about a heavy item falling. If an old lady's scooter nudged into the mirror and it fell on her, would wouldn't that be equally tragic and senseless?

Walmart--any store--should leave ample room for customers to shop, aisles free of clutter and spills and heavy items secured safely. That IS their responsibility.

However, I don't think Wal Mart should be responsible for designing and installing mirrors that will withstand being played with by children.

In some cases I would agree, but when said mirror is installed in the childrens department of the store, Walmart has to reasonably expect that children will be present there and plan their displays around that fact. If the kid were climbing on a display mirror in the furniture department, I could see a reasonable argument being made that the child and parent created the unsafe situation. But in this case, we're talking about a heavy mirror (likely with some type of wooden backing, if it was that heavy) which was placed there specifically for children to use (assumption: large mirrors in childrens departments are usually for viewing tried-on clothing). An object placed for a childs use should be able to take normal child-type stresses (including tugging, pulling, and even moderate climbing) without collapsing and killing someone.

Most likely, the collapse was the fault of shoddy workmanship. That makes it Walmarts liability.