A three month old baby boy has been treated in hospital after he fell down a lift shaft.

On 28 November 2012 his mother pushed his pram through the open lift doors in Smyths Toy Store at Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, Greater Manchester only to find that the lift was not there. The three month old fell into the lift shaft but thankfully escaped with minor injuries.

The lift has been cordoned off while a health and safety inspection is carried out.

Imogen Whetton, a personal injury solicitor from Thompsons Solicitors commented “This young boy was very lucky to escape with only cuts to his face from this incident and may have been saved by his age because his reaction would not have been to tense or seek to save himself. In the Serious Injuries Unit at Thompsons we see victims of falls into lift shafts who have suffered life-changing injuries such as spinal damage and amputations. Falls into lift shafts can also result in fatal injuries.

The urgent issue is for the Health and Safety Executive to discover the cause of the lift malfunction to avoid any similar accidents happening in the future when other people may not be so lucky. The baby’s mother is likely to be in shock for some time”