SINGAPORE: A mother is seeking compensation from fast food giant McDonald's in Singapore for injuries her 9-year-old son suffered when struck by a falling panel from a glass door, a report said on Thursday.
Describing the October 2004 incident, Magariya Bibi said her son was opening the door on his way out of the business when the panel struck him on the head, upper back and right ankle.
Two years later, Mohd Abbas Effendi, a primary school student, still suffers from headaches and goes for medical reviews, The Straits Times said.
Talks between lawyers for McDonald's and Magariya have failed to settle the dispute.
In a statement of defence filed in a Singapore court, lawyers for McDonald's claim that the boy's injuries were caused by his own negligence and by his adult relative's "failure to supervise" him.
The statement suggested that excessive force used by the boy caused the class to shatter.
The boy's grandmother had accompanied him at the restaurant. He was treated at a nearby clinic but later taken to K.K. Women's and Children's Hospital.
The pain became less frequent, but he reportedly appeared to suffer a relapse in school in August 2005 and was hospitalised for two days.
"I am very worried for my son, because I do not know if he will suddenly fall ill again in the future because of this, and how much it will cost," the newspaper quoted Magariya as saying.
A McDonald's spokesperson declined to comment on the dispute, deeming it "inappropriate as the matter is with the courts."
