My 5 Year Old Son Fell In Hollister Co.

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Tennessee
My son and I were in Hollister(clothing store in the mall). I was shopping and my son's foot got stuck under a rug (that was under a standing clothing rack) and he fell hitting the floor on his right shoulder, which he broke his right collarbone the week before. He screamed and cried. As I was embracing him I looked up and was everyone looking at us including one male employee that ended up walking alway w/o asking me if I needed help. After talking and comforting him I took him to the front and asked for a manager. She filed an accident rprt. I took him to the doctor and had a x-ray. It looked the same as the last one hehad prior. I thought he seriously injured his collarbone again. Thank goodness he didn't. He was and still is in pain. He just was finally getting over the pain from before. Now it's back to sleepless nights again. As I was talking to the manager a girl told me and her that she tripped on the same rug minutes before my son fell. I'm wondering If I should file a lawsuit or what I should do. Please give me some advice. Thank You

Apparently malls are now to be held liable for having rugs on the floor. Should they also be held liable for having stairs that can be fallen down or electrical outlets which can be used (along with your own fork) to electrocute oneself?

Face it, unless you can show that the rug was defective (?), or improperly installed (!?) and that the business knew it, then you're just another one of these whiners trying to win the lawsuit lotterry and drive up prices for the rest of us.

Plus, your son has no serious injuries worth suing over - yes his broken collarbone is sore again, but compared to somebody who really gets injured, its nothing.

Kids fall all the time.

He already had an injury and it resurfaced when he fell.
Well, crap happens.... maybe he should have been looking where he was walking.

We can't all go SUE because we trip and fall on a rug, come on!!!!!!

get real - -leave the court rooms for REAL cases.

Just To Let You Know!!!!

I read the replies left for me. I think your additude really sucks..The rug was bunched up under the clothing rack...Not my fault...I think that is clearly the stores fault...I don't believe me or my son should be looking down at all times to make sure there is no defects...BUT I'm sure that when you are out and about you don't look up...HUH? Any way I found out today they have had to slip and falls due to their rugs in the last 6 1/2 months. Now mine makes three... So they clearly know that their rugs are a structural defect and they should be anchored down... You all shouldn't attack people like you do. People come to this site for help not someone who don't have a life and sits all day posting rude comments...

What is your son doing playing around UNDER the clothes rack? Maybe you should supervise your son more closely.

Answer

I am very protective of my children and watch them carefully...You can't tell me that every time a child falls that the parent is at fault... If so, I guess all the parents in the world don't watch their children. My son was not under the clothing rack. The rack was in the middle of the floor. The rug was bunched up because of the rack. He was not playing or running around. An adult female tripped over the same rug. Trust me she was NOT under the clothing rack either. She told the manager that she tripped and caught herself when I was telling her what happened. I guess my 5 year old should have caught himself too...Or maybe if I was watching him, I could have caught him too...HUH?

You should supervise your child when out in public. I have raised boys, I know what they do in a store when they would rather be playing or something else. Is your son accident prone? Is your child unaware of his environment? Take these accidents as a lesson.

I can't strap him to my back. No, he is not a cluts either. I could understand if he was running around or something. Both my girl and boy likes to misbehave in the store sometimes. That day they wasn't because I was going to take him to KB's toy store and get them a toy and movie because we were going out of town. So, before we got into the mall I told them if they misbehaved that I wasn't buying them anything. I just can't believe how when something like this happens the finger gets pointed at the parent. They have about 20 rugs that are just there for looks. Regardless, It should have been anchored down. There have been to many complaints...The store should have done something... (GET THE RUGS OUT OR ANCHOR THEM!!!)

dgypsy said:

I can't strap him to my back. No, he is not a cluts either. I could understand if he was running around or something. Both my girl and boy likes to misbehave in the store sometimes. That day they wasn't because I was going to take him to KB's toy store and get them a toy and movie because we were going out of town. So, before we got into the mall I told them if they misbehaved that I wasn't buying them anything. I just can't believe how when something like this happens the finger gets pointed at the parent. They have about 20 rugs that are just there for looks. Regardless, It should have been anchored down. There have been to many complaints...The store should have done something... (GET THE RUGS OUT OR ANCHOR THEM!!!)

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Nobody is pointing the finger, they are all merely suggesting that "accidents happen".
He fell.
He re-injured a previous clavicle fracture.
Life sucks.
Move on.
(sarcasm intentional)

if he broke his collarbone the week before, he still had about 3-4 weeks left before it would heal completely. Was he wearing an arm sling when it happened?

you haven't posted anything about the break becoming worse or a new injury happening, so your son doesn't have any recoverable damages that an attorney would handle. you can try small claims court for the cost of the doctor's visit and x-ray.

However, you have a big hill to climb on liability. You would have to prove that the store knew the rug was bunched up and did nothing about it before your son fell. Do you know how the rug came to be bunched up? The fact a woman almost fell after your son did has no bearing on your son's case.