Shopping cart safety expert Dr. John Morse

Shopping cart safety expert Dr. John Morse has investigated dozens of shopping cart accidents. He has appeared on three nationally televised news magazines to discuss shopping cart safety, shopping cart accidents and shopping cart injuries (Inside Edition, May 1998; 20/20, February, 1999 and Extra, June 2000).

Dr. Morse has investigated many types of shopping cart accidents, including rear tipovers, side tipovers, falls from the seat and basket areas of shopping carts, and seat belt failures. Shopping cart injuries can include broken bones and even death.

In a rear tipover, the cart tips over backward, usually due to a force applied on the handle. A child sitting in the child seat often sustains a broken femur injury. The child's leg is trapped between the shopping cart handle and the floor as the cart tips over to the rear. Dr. Morse has investigated over a dozen rear tipover shopping cart accidents that resulted in a broken femur.

A simple, economical solution is available to greatly reduce the likelihood of a rear tipover.

Dr. Morse has testified numerous times as a shopping cart expert witness. He has consulted and/or testified as an expert in shopping cart accidents involving rear tipover, side tipover and seat belt failures. He has investigated shopping cart accidents involving cart maintenance, including wheel failures, caster damage and seat belts.

ASTM publishes a standard entitled “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Shopping Carts” (ASTM F2372 – 04). The only safety requirements for the cart design involve the seat belt and labeling; there are no stability requirements to prevent tip-overs. No less than the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement calling on the ASTM committee to “include clear and effective performance criteria to prevent falls from carts and cart tip-overs.” [1]

1.“AAP Policy Statement - Shopping Cart–Related Injuries to Children,” Pediatrics, Vol. 118, No. 2, August, 2006, pp. 825-827.