As a mum of two boys, both of whom spent many a happy hour being pushed around in their Maclaren buggies, I was very distressed to read about problems relating to these buggies with children losing bits of their fingers.
I was also confused as to how the same could happen, and did initially think it happened when children were sitting in their buggies. That, however does not appear to be the case, and whilst I have every sympathy for the children who have suffered these nasty injuries, I have to question, both with my lawyer’s hat on and as a mum, how children come to be putting their fingers into the mechanism of the buggy whilst an adult is either opening or closing the same.
As with any opening/closing mechanism, whether it be on a car door, shop door, your own front door, or even a deckchair (and I remember many a summer holiday being ruined by someone snapping their finger in those nasty contraptions), care has to be exercised when executing the mechanism as accidents do happen.
If however this is a major design defect on the Maclaren buggies, then clearly steps need to be taken to rectify this by Maclaren, and if the same can be proven legally, then all injured children will be entitled to receive compensation for the injuries they sustained. However talking as a mum, and not a lawyer, it strikes me that the bigger issue is that to avoid children suffering injuries, as most accidents are preventable, we as parents simple have to apply common sense.
There are many things out there which can present a danger to our children, some avoidable, many preventable and others not. If you believe your child has suffered injury as a result of an accident which could and should have been avoided, then please contact us. We have specialists who deal with accidents involving children, and who are best placed to get the maximum compensation for an injured child.
By personal injury Partner, Kate Sweeney
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