I'm not a California lawyer, so I don't know if the law in your state requires child-safe shopping carts in department stores.  If there is a law like that, it's unusual.  If your child was actually hurt in a fall from one of their carts, you might be able to sue for negligence. This would probably be a complicated case, though, and you should have a qualified attorney in your area review all the facts, for advice you can rely on.  One place to find a lawyer is our website, http://attorneypages.comOne of the fairly obvious problems with a negligence case like this is that the department store will argue that you used the cart in a way that was negligent on your part, and that might well reduce or completely prevent your recovery.