Hey, that was *my* TV killing 3-year-old thread. What about it?
The point of posting it was that it was the 2nd time it had happened in less than a week in our city - and it's something that only happens 6 times a year, on average, so I thought it was noticeably worthy of discussing.
On *this* thread, I'm not certain what happened to make the mirror fall, so I can't assign responsibility until we know more about it. If we find out the mother has lost two other children in the past in similar incidents, then maybe we have a clue.
If we find out it was one of those full-length mirrors fitted into a frame with swivels on the sides holding it in place and the kid's sibling was playing see-saw with it, that would be a different clue. For one thing, it shouldn't have been that far from a wall that it could have swiveled a whole length. Or if the stand was too flimsy (I've seen those) or the swivels had torn through the mountings (seen that, too), then that's another different clue.
If we find out that "floor-mounted" meant that a full-length mirror was leaned up against the wall with nothing holding it (I've seen that, but maybe not at Wal-Mart), that would be a different clue.
It didn't fall from "above" so wasn't wall-mounted on a false wall, like the one accident cited in an article above, and wasn't ceiling-mounted - so whether screws or wire or whatever mounting was used that didn't hold the weight probably won't be an issue.
Was it in the children's *shoes* department? It didn't say, but those floor-mounted mirrors are more like 5 feet wide than 5 feet tall - and they are pitched forward from the back, so that the reflection is downward on the feet and shoes being tried on. I could see problems with something like that.
At any rate, now I'm feeling guilty that when I go to Wal-Mart, I've always used the shopping cart to put my purchases in! Without children to put in them, I was not aware they are provided as kiddie corrals, as you said they are. Boy, do I feel stupid! I saw other people doing it, too, though, so I'm not the only one.
It was a good thread. When Freepers said there was some responsibilty on the part of the parents/family to protect/control the kid, no one got flamed for it. Imagine that. The idea of a parent being responsible for a childs saftety. ;)