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Aug 18, 2023

Mum's plea after shopping trolley accident leaves toddler with brain bleed

A mum's regular trip to the supermarket last week ended with her toddler in

A mum's regular trip to the supermarket last week ended with her toddler in hospital undergoing lifesaving brain surgery after a freak accident involving a shopping trolley.

Casey Gobbert had reportedly finished her grocery shop in Brisbane last Thursday and was loading her car with bags when she began to put her three-year-old son Lincoln into the car, momentarily turning her back on her 17-month-old daughter Millie, who remained in the trolley.

At that moment Ms Gobbert said a gust of wind pulled the trolley away with Millie still on board.

"My world stood still. My stomach just dropped," Ms Gobbert told A Current Affair.

Despite Ms Gobbert sprinting after the trolley, it tumbled and Millie's head hit the floor. Her mum swooped her up but claims she could "feel the lump already" on her head, mere seconds after the accident.

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The family rushed to their local hospital and doctors ran a CT scan which revealed a brain bleed.

"Nowhere in my wildest dreams would I have imagined it was going to be blood, brain bleeds," she said.

Millie was transported to Queensland Children's Hospital where surgeons performed intricate brain surgery to save the 17-month-old's life.

Ms Gobbert is now pleading for safety features to be a requirement for shopping trolleys with child seats, believing brakes and a wrist strap would be beneficial.

"All shopping trolleys with child restraints need to have a braking system in place. I am determined to make this happen," she wrote in a Facebook post.

Although most states have safety regulations for shopping trolleys, detailing best practices for users, there is not a set guideline of safety features that are required to be met by supermarkets before they can be used by the public.

There have been several incidents where shopping trolleys have caused injuries, with one Woolworths worker sustaining fractures after a trolley toppled onto her, and another woman died in China due to a runaway trolley.

Thankfully, Millie is recovering well in hospital with doctors hoping she will be able to head home soon.

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