PITTSBURGH — A Cranberry Township couple filed a lawsuit against Target alleging a metal-framed wicker toy trunk they bought from the company caused a severe brain injury to their now 2-year-old daughter.

Eric and Laura Surman of Blue Ridge Drive filed the lawsuit Monday in Allegheny County Court against the Minneapolis-based department store chain.

The accident occurred at 9:24 a.m. July 20 at the Surman home.

Camryn Surman, 18 months old at the time, suffered a brain injury when the lid of the "brown rectangular trunk" fell on the girl's neck, cutting off her oxygen supply.

The result was a severe anoxic brain injury that caused significant physical and cognitive impairments, according to the lawsuit.

"It's a parent's worst nightmare," John Gismondi, the attorney for the Surmans, said Monday afternoon.

"She (Camryn) can't walk. She can't talk. She can't see. She can't breathe on her own. She can't eat without a feeding tube. She needs 24-hour care."

The Surmans bought the trunk online and received it in the mail July 13, a week before the accident.

According to the lawsuit, Target advertised the trunk as "perfect as storage for toys, pillows or other big items." The advertisement also had two customer reviews that touted its use for toys.

The suit alleges Target was aware industry and government sources, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission, had reported at least 45 children died and others suffered serious brain damage as a result of the toy trunk lids falling on the heads or necks of children, leading to suffocation or anoxic brain injuries.

Target representatives were not immediately available for comment Monday.

The suit contends the toy trunk did not meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recommendations or industry standards for storage containers for toys, clothes, blankets or linens, which must be sold with a lid-support mechanism that prevents the lid from collapsing, and that if the product doesn't have the appropriate lid-support mechanism, the storage chest should contain a permanent label on the inside of the lid stating, "Warning — This chest is not intended or suitable for a toy chest" and also include the wording, "risk of child suffocation."

The lawsuit seeks money damages to cover Camryn's medical expenses and the family's pain and suffering. The couple also is asking for punitive damages against Target for "outrageous behavior undertaken with reckless disregard for the safety of children," according to the lawsuit.

Target has since removed from its Web site the trunk named in the lawsuit.

"If you're selling a wicker trunk and endorsing it by selling it on your Web site, you need the proper safety instructions for a toy box," said Gismondi of the Pittsburgh law firm Gismondi & Associates.

"The box should have had a safety hinge that keeps the lid on the toy box open, or there should be a clear warning label next to the top of the basket. It had neither."

Gismondi said all of the trunks should be recalled and there should be a clear warning in the store.

The store also should be attempting to contact those who have bought the box about the lid's dangers, Gismondi said, adding nothing has been done to date.