A four-year-old boy was crushed to death when a large mirror fell on him in the changing room of a designer shop in an “accident that was waiting to happen”, a coroner has said. Austen Harrison suffered fatal head injuries when the free-standing mirror toppled on to him at a Hugo Boss store in Bicester, Oxfordshire, in June 2013.
A jury concluded that the tragedy happened after Austen moved the wings of the three-piece mirror, causing it to wobble and fall. The jurors said the mirror, which was two metres tall and weighed 118kg (19st), should have been fixed to the wall and the wall reinforced.
In a narrative verdict, the jury said: “We believe there were health and safety systems in place but are not confident that these systems would have avoided any danger posed by the mirror. In any case, these systems do not seem to have been followed.”
The senior Oxfordshire coroner, Darren Salter, said he would send a report about the case to the chief coroner, Peter Thornton, in the hope of preventing similar incidents. Salter said: “It is surprising to me that the mirror stayed in its position for possibly up to six months with staff and customers moving its wings. Sadly, this was an accident waiting to happen, and sadly it happened to young Austen.”
The coroner said health and safety systems had been “in place but were not followed”, and this lack of understanding and responsibility “seems to be accepted” by Hugo Boss. He noted that the company had made efforts to improve, including hiring a health and safety manager and providing training for staff.
Austen, from Crawley, West Sussex, was with his parents, Simon and Irina Harrison, when the incident occurred at the Bicester outlet village. In a statement, Mr Harrison said he had been trying on a number of suits and jackets in a fitting area while his wife and son wandered around the shop.
His son began playing with the mirror’s large wing panels, which were attached by hinges, and as Mr Harrison turned away he heard a bang. He said: “I heard someone gasp and saw a large mirror had fallen over. I instantly knew Austen was underneath it as it was not lying flat on the floor.”
Austen underwent an emergency operation to relieve pressure on his brain but he died four days later in hospital.
The inquest heard that when the shop had been refitted, a three-piece mirror was discussed and initially rejected as too costly and time-consuming because it would require the installation of a reinforced wall.
Benoit Mareschal, Hugo Boss’s former director of shop construction, told the court that when he visited the store for the handover after the refit, the idea was revived and he ordered such a mirror from Germany. A month later he returned only to find that the three-piece mirror had been positioned to cover some missing panels or shelving.
He said: “I can clearly recall that the three-way mirror had been delivered and put up in the wrong position. I can recall seeing it is in the wrong place and saying: ‘Guys, this can’t be here, it needs fitting in properly.’”
Mareschal said the company did not cut corners on safety, and added: “I think it is really a tragic oversight that so many people missed it.”
Hugo Boss said in a statement: “The global Hugo Boss team has expressed its heartfelt condolences to the family, and our thoughts are of course still with them. Our team remains extremely saddened by the incident. Given the ongoing investigations, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Cherwell district council is investigating the incident.
