Personal Injury Law

Children At Danger From Falling Household Items

The Atlanta personal injury lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP have successfully litigated many cases involving merchandise falling from shelves in commercial establishments and seriously injuring and killing shoppers. However, what many people do not realize is that this danger also exists in homes.

For young children, the home is a playground, and while many parents childproof to ensure that their home is a safe place, some may not be aware that unsecured TVs, furniture and appliances are hidden hazards lurking in every room. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents to take simple, low-cost steps to prevent deaths and injuries associated with furniture, TV, and appliance tip-overs.

The CPSC estimates that in 2006, 16,300 children 5 years old and younger were treated in emergency rooms because of injuries associated with TV, furniture, and appliance tip-overs. Between 2000 and 2006, CPSC staff received reports of 134 tip-over related deaths.

Additionally, the CPSC reports it is aware of at least 30 media reports of tip-over deaths since January 2007 involving this same age group.

Typically, injuries and deaths occur when children climb onto, fall against, or pull themselves up on television stands, shelves, bookcases, dressers, desks, chests, and appliances. In some cases, televisions placed on top of furniture tip over and cause a child to suffer traumatic and sometimes fatal injuries.

Recent revisions to the voluntary safety standards for clothes storage units provide for the inclusion of warning labels and additional hardware to secure the furniture to the floor or wall.

To prevent these devastating events, the CPSC advises as follows:

Make sure free-standing ranges and stoves are installed with anti-tip brackets.

Full post as published by Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog on December 17, 2009 (boomark / email).