Asda under fire after girl, 7, breaks leg slipping on floor in Milton Keynes store

A mum has complained of being badly treated by Asda after her child slipped and broke her leg in their Bletchley store.

She says the child was denied first aid in the store due to the "Covid policy" and has now been told to go through lawyers to state her case.

She also claims a staff member even told the girl she was "clumsy" - because she already has her leg in a cast due to a previous injury playing rugby.

The child was wearing a special cast boot up to her knee when she went shopping with her mum to the store.

"She suddenly slipped and hit the floor badly. When we looked, we saw she'd slipped on a mushed up strawberry that someone had obviously dropped on the floor.

"A member of the public shouted across from the opposite aisle to ask if she was ok. She said she herself had reported the mess 10 to 15 minutes previously as her child almost slipped as well. However the strawberry residue remained on the floor."

With the little girl clearly in pain, the mum asked if Asda's first aider could be called.

"She was refused any form of medical first aid due to 'Covid-19'. My child was then told by a staff member that she’s very clumsy, and accident prone because she was already in a leg cast due to a previous injury which was not her fault, nor the business of Asda," she said.

A trip to A&E confirmed the girl had broken her tibia in a second place, opposite to the previous injury. She also suffered damage to her coccyx and will need physiotherapy to repair it.

She has now been fitted with another cast and must wear it for weeks longer. This means she is missing out on summer camp and other activities booked and paid for by her parents. They have also had to cancel a seaside holiday as the cast cannot get wet.

The mum is asking Asda to pay £500 for the holiday deposit that she cannot claim back.

She said: "I complained to customer service and the store manager. I questioned the no first aid due to Covid statement. All I asked Asda for was to credit back my holiday deposit that we lost."

The mum said a staff member eventually offered Niamh £50 to get some toys she could play with at home.

"But they have now declined to offer even part of the deposit back, and told me to get a solicitor and to sue them through their insurance - which seems bizarre to me," she said.

"I’m not a unreasonable individual, I’m not looking to sue for thousands, but simply to have my holiday deposit refunded and able to do activities around Milton Keynes because my daughter cannot stand on her leg for long during the summer holidays."

A spokesman for Asda told the Citizen: ‘’The safety of our stores is incredibly important to us and we have not yet received any claims regarding this incident. Because of the child's age and the circumstances surrounding the incident we have advised her mother to contact a solicitor should she wish to make any claim.’’