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Falling Television Kills Child

By Eddie Farah

It was an incredibly sad story this week when little four-year-old Dymounique Wilson died after a television fell on her in her Jacksonville home. Wednesday night her mother, Samara Brinkley, put the little girl on her bed and as they watched television together, the mother dozed off.

'The only thing I heard was a boom, and when I woke up I saw the TV on her,' Brinkley tells Channel 4.

Apparently her Dora the Explorer book was on top of a heavy television which was on a stand and the little girl was trying to retrieve it.

Brinkley says she can't sleep or eat since her daughter's death.

Our condolences go out to those who loved this little girl. What a horrible tragedy and an accident.

'So I ask for every parent to please watch your children because this could have happened to anybody,' says Dymounique's grandmother, Marrietta Brinkley.

She is right, it could happen to anyone and it does.

Just last week, a published study in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, looked at the number of patients under the age of 17 treated in emergency rooms for a furniture tip-over-related injury from 1990 to 2007. During that time, 264,000 injuries yielded almost 15,000 injuries. This is a significant increase in the number and rate of these injuries over eighteen years.

The majority - 75 percent of the injuries - occured to children six and under, and televisions were most commonly involved, in 47.4 percent of cases. The study concludes that the number and rate of injuries to children associated with furniture tip-overs is on the rise and that prevention is the first line of defense.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, you are advised to use anchors to hold television stands, bookcases and bureaus to the wall. You can use a bracket, screws and toggles. Some televisions even come with straps or hardware to secure them.

Heavy televisions need to be on sturdy furniture and pushed back far on the furniture. Do not store anything tempting for children like toys or a remote control on the top of heavy items like television sets or shelving.

The CPSC says dressers and cabinets should be stacked with the heaviest things in the bottom so the furniture is not top-heavy.

Another source of furniture injury can be those cribs that have been recalled because they are unsafe. Consignment stores and yard sales are a source of these recalled items even though the CPSC puts out notices online for recalled items.

A crib with any gaping holes, such as a floorboard that separates from the frame can cause an infant to suffocate. Please check the CPSC Web site before buying used furniture that your child will spend time in, largely unsupervised, such as a crib.

Ms. Brinkley is right – this can happen to anyone. Again, our condolences go out to the family. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).