Mum battles Harvey Nichols over baby's glass injury

A mother is battling for compensation after she and her baby son were injured when a glass door panel shattered at the Harvey Nichols store in Cabot Circus last year.

An 8ft pane of glass fell out of its frame and smashed on top of Sarah Moore's seven-month-old son Daniel, who was asleep in his pram as the pair left the shop in September.

Daniel, now one, had a cut close to his eye and Ms Moore, 19, had a cut to her hand.

Mother and baby, from Bishopsworth, were taken by ambulance to Bristol Children's Hospital for treatment and were discharged later the same day.

Ms Moore, who believes her son could have been killed in the accident, has instructed city centre-based John Whitcroft Solicitors to fight for compensation and is waiting to hear if she has been successful.

However, an investigation into the accident carried out Bristol City Council has concluded that no further action will be taken against Harvey Nichols because the 'incident was not considered to have been foreseeable'.

Ms Moore, who says she pushed the door twice to get out because it was stuck and was forced to manoeuvre her son's pram around it, says she was not at fault for the accident and believes the retailer should be held to account.

She said: "The door shouldn't just shatter when you push it open.

"If Daniel had been sitting up in his pushchair he would have been dead because there was a big thick piece of glass in the pram.

"My solicitor has said that because of what happened Daniel could claim compensation, which could be put in a trust fund for when he's older, and I could receive a little bit of money as well.

"An insurance company has been contacted and they apparently had three months to respond to the claim.

"I've not been back to Harvey Nichols since the accident - I've decided I'll never go back there again."

Ms Moore's mother-in-law Carol Toogood, who drove from her home in Felton to be at hospital with Ms Moore and Daniel after the accident, said: "It looks like what the council is saying is that it was Sarah's fault, which is strange.

"If a door is stuck and it is being pushed, it shouldn't break because anyone pushing it could be in trouble."

The accident happened on the second day of trading at the flagship store, which opened to shoppers as part of the £500-million Cabot Circus shopping centre on September 25.

A crowd of people gathered as the entrance to the store in Philadelphia Street, Cabot Circus, was sealed off following the accident.

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: "An environmental health officer carried out a thorough investigation of the incident, together with the Building Control Section.

"The glass in the door shattered in the way that safety glass is designed to do when it is overstressed, for whatever reason.

"The council took no further action as the incident was not considered to have been foreseeable and Harvey Nichols had done everything reasonably practicable to prevent such an occurrence."

Ms Moore's solicitor John Whitcroft said: "We are waiting for a response from the other side to find out whether they accept or deny liability."

Harvey Nichols declined to comment.

Following the accident in September, the retailer said CCTV footage would be viewed to work out exactly how the accident happened.