Shoppers sue Target, saying they were rammed by kids on scooters in Cherry Hill

Two Philadelphia women say they were seriously injured after children rammed them with electric scooters while they shopped at the Cherry Hill Target.

Their allegations are laid out in a lawsuit against Target that was transferred to federal court in New Jersey earlier this month.

Brittany Lewis and her godmother, Cynthia Harris, say they were “run down” by five children on scooters — which are available for customers with mobility issues — during a routine Target trip the Saturday before Christmas in 2021, according to their attorney, Michael van der Veen, and court documents.

“Target allowed a number of youths into the store without really monitoring them or figuring out what they were doing,” said van der Veen, a Philadelphia lawyer who defended President Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial. “They hopped on scooters that were there and were just zipping around the store.”

Van der Veen said the women did not know the children who ran into them, nor did the pair have any prior interactions with them inside the store. Target “did nothing” to prevent the injuries, van der Veen said, or to remedy the situation afterward.

“This has been extremely traumatic for them,” van der Veen said. “They’ve got substantial and unfortunately what are probably lifelong injuries. And it was all preventable. It’s really a gross negligence that Target was displaying.”

Target spokespeople did not return requests for comment. In court documents, the corporation denies that it was careless or negligent, saying that the store was adequately supervised. Employees had no notice that the scooters were being misused, according to Target, and any injuries to the women were caused by other customers over whom the company “had no control nor right of control.”

Van der Veen is trying to get access to the store’s security footage, he said, in order to determine what happened and put a dollar figure on the damages incurred by his clients. In court documents, he says his clients are likely to seek more than $75,000.

Lewis, of Brewerytown, and Harris, of Tioga, suffered serious leg and knee pain as a result of the incident. Harris has medical documentation of several herniated discs in her lower back, van der Veen writes in the documents, and they have incurred expenses for prescriptions, physical therapy, and other care.

Van der Veen said he hopes the case has a broader impact in the retail industry.

“We’re really trying to establish a minimum standard of care big box stores like these owe to their customers,” he said.