By Charlene Wilson

A FIFE COUPLE say they have been left “disgusted” by the way they have been treated by Boots the Chemist in the wake of a horrific accident in which an industrial rolling pin fell from the shop’s premises and fractured their baby daughter’s skull.

John-Paul and Claire Burns, from Lochgelly, are now taking legal action against the pharmacy giant in a bid to find out how the accident was allowed to happen and make the company admit liability.

Eighteen-month-old Alyssa was struck on the head this month while being cared for by her grandmother outside the Dundee city centre store next to the Overgate Shopping Centre.

She was rushed to Ninewells Hospital by ambulance where an X-ray and CT scan revealed she had a fractured skull and internal bleeding.

It emerged the rolling pin, which weighed between two and three kilograms, had fallen from Boots’ staff canteen window three storeys above.

After a spell in the high dependency unit and children’s ward, Alyssa is now recovering at home with her parents and older sister Nicole (11).

However John-Paul said they will not rest until they get some answers.

He added, “We are disgusted by the way Boots have handled the situation from start to finish.

“When it happened they were very unhelpful and acted incompetently.

“For example, Alyssa’s grandad had to demand that they phone the police and ambulance and had to practically force them into finding a private room to attend to Alyssa until the ambulance arrived.

“There was also no first aider present to attend to our daughter.

“The way we see it, a large company such as Boots should have systems in place to deal with emergencies but they didn’t.”

John-Paul said he and his wife were still awaiting an explanation from Boots about how the incident happened.

“We have repeatedly asked for answers but we are still in the dark. Boots have said they regret what happened but as far as we are concerned that is not an apology or an explanation.

“At the end of the day they are liable for what happened to Alyssa so the very least they could do is offer an apology or send a get well card, but they’ve done neither.”

The couple have enlisted the help of a lawyer to begin legal proceedings against the company.

“We have been assured we have a good case and are determined to get the answers we are looking for.”

In the meantime John-Paul and Claire are focusing their attention on Alyssa’s recovery.

“Even though she is home and doing as well as can be expected, she still has a long way to go,” said John-Paul.

“She is having bad headaches as a result of the fracture and it will be six weeks before we see the neuro-surgeon at Ninewells and find out whether the bone has knitted together.”

He added that the incident has left emotional scars as well as physical ones.

“Alyssa has always been a social child, happy to go to anyone, but since this has happened we have noticed a few behavioural changes in her in that she is very frightened of everything and wary of people and will only go to me or Claire.”

A Boots spokeswoman said, “Boots has tried to make contact with the Burns family to explain the findings of the investigation and to offer our apologies over this extraordinary and very unfortunate accident.

“Our investigations conclude that it was an accident and we have taken measures to prevent such an accident from occurring again.

“We are willing to assist the family in whatever way we can and we will fully co-operate with any legal action the family wish to take.”

A Dundee City Council spokesman confirmed the local authority was responsible for investigations into health and safety violations in shop premises, and not the Health and Safety Executive, and that an investigation was under way.