A Chinese mother sparked outrage by requesting compensation from a supermarket after her 11-year-old son fell and suffered a concussion in the store.
The incident took place at a Hema Xiansheng supermarket in central China’s Hunan province on October 19.
After her son accidentally tripped and fell, the unidentified mother began vandalizing and smashing the supermarket, the South China Morning Post reported.
A Chinese mother is facing backlash after demanding compensation from a supermarket for her son’s injury
A video of the incident shows the boy running around the premises before tripping and passing out for a few seconds.
Two days later, his mother reportedly took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and scalp hematoma.
Now, the furious mom is demanding compensation from the Alibaba-owned supermarket, accusing them of failing to immediately assist her son or call an ambulance.
An anonymous staff member disputed these claims, alleging that employees assisted the boy and asked if he needed to be taken to the hospital.
The worker claims the boy stood up by himself and said he was fine, so they let him go with his mother.
According to the SCMP, which is also owned by tech giant Alibaba, the dispute between the mother and the shop is ongoing.
The staff member who spoke with the media outlet chose not to disclose how much the mother is seeking in compensation, but said that the supermarket proposed a sum that she rejected.
Launched in 2015, Hema is a fresh-food-focused supermarket chain that integrates elements of online and offline shopping, according to Business Insider. It offers customers the ability to see the origins of its products, have food delivered for free or prepared for pickup within 30 minutes, and pay with facial recognition technology.
Lin Xiaoming, an attorney from the Sichuan Yishang Law Firm, explained that a shop’s legal responsibility for these types of accidents varies case by case, and depends on several factors: whether the floor was slippery, whether shoppers were warned about the wet floors, and to what extent workers assisted shoppers who suffered an injury.
A video of the boy’s accident surfaced on social media on November 10, receiving 200 million views.
Many commenters sided with the supermarket chain, highlighting the risk of setting a precedent that could lead other stores to lose money to ill-intentioned shoppers seeking to take advantage
“If the supermarket compensates after the mother smashed the shop, then anyone can fall in a shop and claim money in future,” one social media user wrote.
“The parent is the negligent one here, and the shop should claim compensation from the parent for damage of goods,” another said.
“It sets a bad precedent on moral standards in society and promotes the wrong attitudes and behavior,” added a third user, who argued that a settlement would be “wrong on so many levels.”
Meanwhile, others mentioned that workers must be cautious when it comes to handling delicate health accidents. “I agree that the staff should check on the boy, but not assist him, because he might be in a critical condition that any movement might cause more serious injuries.”
This isn’t the first time a store in China has been sued for indirectly causing an injury
A similar case took place in 2022 when a woman suffered multiple bone fractures after slipping on the carpet laid out in front of a Chinese jewelry store.
After suing the shop for indirectly causing the accident, a court in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region ruled in her favor, holding the shop 80% liable for the incident.
In the US, property owners can be held liable for these kinds of injuries if the injured shopper can demonstrate that the property owner’s negligence directly contributed to an unsafe condition—wet floors, broken steps, or poor lighting—that caused the accident, as per Etehad Law.
Many states classify fall and other such liability victims in categories that influence the duty of care owed to them, the Pursley Law Firm notes. The extent of that duty of care is determined by factors such as the defendant’s control over the property, the foreseeability of the injury, and the owner’s awareness of potential hazards.
Usually, the duty of reasonable care includes a responsibility to frequently inspect the property and remove all wet spots or obstacles—like items that have fallen off a shelf—and other injury hazards, the law firm writes.
Bored Panda has contacted the Alibaba Group for comment.
Mom Sparks Outrage For Seeking Compensation After 11YO Son Slipped And Fell At Supermarket Bored Panda
