Kmart shopper slams retailer over baby's head injury: 'We're appalled'
A distraught father has slammed Kmart on social media after his baby allegedly suffered a head injury in one of the retailer's Sydney stores due to a faulty trolley.
The man was shopping with his young family at Marrickville Metro in Sydney's inner west on Saturday April 2 at 8am when the incident is said to have occurred.
"My wife placed our nine-month-old daughter into one of your trolleys, and while my three-year-old was waiting for Mum to get ready, she stood at the front of the trolley," explained the father in his scathing Facebook post.
"Suddenly, and without any movement from Mum or the kids, the trolley tipped over with our nine-month-old sitting in the baby seat," the Kmart customer added.
The man claimed that as the trolley suddenly tipped sideways, his wife attempted to hold the heavy metal object up to protect their baby. However, her efforts were "fruitless" and the nine-month-old headed straight for the concrete floor.
"As the trolley falls to its side, our nine-month-old daughter summersaults out of it and directly onto her head, then her body tips over the top of her and she lands on her back," wrote the man.
In what he described as a traumatic incident, the man's three-year-old daughter was left "crying and scared" while his baby screamed and wept after her fall.
A Kmart spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that the safety of customers and team members is the retailer's "number one priority".
"We are aware of the incident and are currently investigating, which means we are an unable to provide a comment," the spokesperson added.
'No one came near us' recounts Kmart shopper
In his Facebook post, the Kmart customer went on to state that after he gathered his injured baby into his arms and calmed her down, the family re-entered the store to figure out what had gone wrong.
The man added: "This trolley fell over directly in the store, directly in front of a staff member. No one came near us, no one asked, 'Is your baby okay?'"
"Out of frustration I said to the staff member at the front of the store, 'Thanks for asking if my baby was okay, thanks for calling for a manager for assistance, thanks for doing nothing at all!"
The man alleged that his wife noticed the Kmart trolley that they'd been using had only three wheels instead of four, which is what caused it to fall over.
The shopper stated that he then brought the incident to the attention of the store manager, who reviewed the "horrendous" CCTV footage and promised to "escalate the matter internally".
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Fortunately, after spending four hours at Sydney Children's Hospital emergency, the Kmart customer says his baby daughter was released with a "mild head injury" and a mark on her forehead.
But the man said they weren't out of the woods yet, as they were told to keep an eye on the baby "to ensure she doesn’t have a concussion".
"My wife, our three-year-old and I are rattled from seeing this. We're appalled by the lack of response and accountability from Kmart at the time, and after being contacted by the store manager, will see where they go from here in addressing the matter," wrote the man.
He concluded by saying that his family will be seeking "some legal advice about what happened" to prevent a similar situation happening again.
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