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June 3rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - The toddler was holding his father’s hand on the travelator when he lost his balance on the down slope
- As he fell his hand became trapped between the skirting and pallets treads, which acted as a guillotine
- Ikea fined £75,000 and ordered to pay compensation fees
By
Jill Reilly
06:34 EST, 3 June 2012
|
06:39 EST, 3 June 2012
A father has spoken of the moment he saw his two-year-old son have two fingers chopped off in a horrific accident on a store escalator.
He was holding his son’s hand while standing on the travelator in Ikea in Milton Keynes, Bucks, when the toddler lost his balance on the down slope.
As he fell, the boy put his hand down and it became trapped between the skirting and pallets treads, which acted as a guillotine.
Tragic: Both fingers were amputated about halfway down after the accident in the store in Milton Keynes, Bucks
The gap was bigger than the legal limit of four millimetres.
As the child cried out in pain his father saw that the index and middle fingers of his son’s left hand had been sliced off.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery.
Both fingers were amputated about halfway down after the accident on March 31, 2007.
Injured: As he fell on the travelator (pictured) his hand became trapped between the skirting and pallets treads, which acted as a guillotine
In a statement read out to the court,
the boy’s father said: ‘He held my two fingers and stood on the left
side of me. He had his left hand on the rail and we stood on the
travelator together.
‘I felt a tug on my fingers and he had twisted and fallen and put his left hand on the travelator.
‘I
bent down to pick him up but stumbled forward. I picked him up straight
away but noticed his index and middle fingers were missing.
‘I ran down to the bottom with him and called for help.’
Judge Joanna Cutts fined the company £75,000 pounds and ordered it to pay £90,000 pounds in prosecution costs.
It
had accepted liability at previous civil proceedings brought on behalf
of the boy, now aged seven years, and is paying compensation.
A final figure has yet to be agreed, depending on the boy’s future prognosis.
Prosecutor Barry Berlin told Judge Cutts: ‘The boy was nearly three when he visited the store with his family.
‘He was holding onto his father’s fingers when he fell and trapped his fingers in the travelator.
Medical treatment: The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery
‘It was at the point of transition when the travelator goes from horizontal to downward angle when he fell and caught his fingers underneath the skirting.
‘He sliced off two fingers on his left hand – the index and middle fingers.
‘At the point of transition the gap was above four millimetres.The child was able to put his fingers in the gap.
‘Four millimetres is the limit for this kind of travelator. The onus is on the employer, IKEA, to ensure it does not exceed four millimetres.’
The flat pack specialists admitted a
charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after earlier
pleading not guilty.
IKEA
had disputed full liability for the accident after maintenance
specialists Lift Serve conducted tests on the travelators two days
before the incident, stating the gap between the skirting and tread had
been safe.
Carol Reddish, Chief Executive Officer for IKEA in the UK, attended Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday for the sentencing hearing.
Mr Berlin said the store had failed to compile a risk assessment of the travelators and checked that maintenance had been carried out properly by the external firm.
Mr Berlin said: ‘We accept that this was a localised problem in this store.
‘Nonetheless this is IKEA and there was not a risk assessment of the travelators and that is a mandatory requirement.
‘The skirting itself was very sharp, hence the severing. That could and should have been engineered out to reduce the risk to people.
‘This accident resulted in serious and permanent disability to the boy, a vulnerable victim.’
Defending counsel Simon Antrobus said the company regretted the incident but added that the civil proceedings had found Lift Serve to be 75 per cent liable and IKEA 25 per cent.
‘IKEA has put in place everything it can to ensure the highest degree of safety for customers and staff.
‘This particular incident was extremely regrettable, made worse by the fact that it involves a very young child.’
In sentencing the multi-national business, Judge Cutts said: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that IKEA, in this store and on this particular travelator, exposed children to severe and permanent disability.
‘IKEA had an indelible duty to ensure the safety of all customers in the store and failed in its duty here.’
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When I am with my young grandchildren – I hope their hand NOT they hold mine. Which means that if they stumble I have hold of them and can help to prevent a fall or worse.
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Carry your kids on an escalator , also any idiot saying, they are dangerous to dogs, dogs should not be on them.
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Poor little thing.
We were trapped in the Ikea lift in the Leeds branch a few years ago with my son and his girfriend, 4 of us in all.
We rang the alarm for ten minutes and heard nothing. I was getting quite panicky after 15 minutes so I rang 999 on my mobile.
The operator got in touch with IKEA and finally after 25 minutes they sent someone. I was hopping mad and wrote to the company and complained. They offered us 2 portions of swedish meatballs as compo…we wanted a wardrobe!
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how come the child fell when the father was holding his hand? Something now quite right here I think!!!!!- Alan, Quesada, Spain, 3/6/2012 13:28 He wasn’t. The toddler was holding round 2 of the Dad’s fingers.
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This is a horrible accident that could have been avoided, I’m glad the little lad is getting compo. and glad Ikea has taken the rap.
Hindsight is a marvelous thing, but this sort of accident can happen so quickly, this is also a reason why I always carry my little one on escalators, the potential for injury to small children is quite significant
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No ammount of money will compensate the child for the loss of two fingers. The company that maintained the esculator will no doubt be sued for a fortune and no doubt Ikea will get another company to service the esculators in the future.
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There are some sad judgemental people on here, maybe they haven’t had children. Of course a child can fall whilst your holding it’s hand. That poor father is in no way to blame.
As a parent whose child lost the sight in one eye following an accident indoors, I know first hand what the boy and his Dad have been thru
Put a gag on you morons
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Judges love to clobber large corporations no matter what the circumstances as much as they like to help offenders. The maintenance company was paid to do the job and failed – they should take the blame. At the end of the day however an individual didn’t do his/her job properly and a boy paid for it with his fingers. Who was that individual? Does he/she bare any responsibility?
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Oh Grace. Now you can tell your Dad how to sue IKEA. The boy had an accident- nothing more, nothing less.
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..over the years I have witnessed several horrible accidents on escalators involving children, an older woman and even a dog. They are lethal things and should be used with utmost care. Ive even seen unsupervised children playing on them. And those sloping escalators can easily make you lose your balance if you arent careful. My heart goes out to this little boy and his dad who was doing the right thing by holding his sons hand, unlike some parents Ive seen. The little lad may get ‘compo’ but nothing will ever compensate for the loss of his fingers.
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