Protecting Children Against Deadly Tip-Over Accidents
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. Every year, our law firm learns more about the many children who suffer serious or deadly injuries due to tip-over accidents. These events often occur after a curious child sees an object like a TV remote control device sitting on top of a chest of drawers, a bookshelf or a tall TV stand and then attempts to climb up to reach for the item. In many instances, when a chest of drawers is involved, the child will open drawers and use them like ladder rungs to climb to the top of the furniture.
Recently, a two-year old boy in California died after he became trapped underneath a Malm three-drawer chest sold by IKEA. In this case, the furniture had not been anchored to the wall. IKEA reports that eight children have died from injuries they sustained while playing on or near recalled dressers since 1989.
General Facts Regarding These Dangers
In some cases, these accidents may be preventable if the parents, teachers or other caregivers remember to use anchor devices to attach the heavy furniture to a wall, preventing it from crashing down and crushing a child. However, even when such anchoring devices are used, children can still suffer traumatic injuries when climbing on unsafe, poorly designed (or constructed) furniture — or other large objects found in many homes.
Since nearly half of these serious and deadly incidents take place in bedrooms, parents must regularly check on their children when they spend time in different areas of the home and clearly warn them against climbing on any furniture.
Additional tip-over accident information is set forth below, indicating the serious threat posed by these events that can occur in private homes, daycare facilities, schools and other locations.
How Often Are Children Harmed in Tip-Over Incidents?
The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has a chart posted on its website detailing the many dangers posed by these accidents.
- Every two weeks, another child dies due to a tip-over accident. And three children are injured due to this type of event every hour. (This means that roughly 25,400 children are hurt in these accidents every year);
- About 70% of these incidents involve either large TVs or pieces of furniture that fall on top of a child;
- Twenty-six percent of the accidents involve dresser drawers or large tables. Another four percent (4%) of them occur after a large appliance (like a stove) falls on top of a child;
- Children are crushed in these accidents about 60% of the time. Eighteen percent of them become trapped and become unable to breathe. Others are hit or struck by objects that fall off the large objects as they crash to the ground;
Ages of Kids Most Often Hurt in Tip-Over Accidents
- Children between the ages of three and five. About 29% of all injuries are sustained by these kids – perhaps due to their size and unlimited curiosity;
- Kids ages 5-9. About 10 percent of all tip-over accidents involve kids in this age range;
- Babies between birth and 12 months of age. Only about 8% of the accidents affect these children;
- Toddlers between ages one and two. These kids sustain injuries from about 27% of all tip-over accidents;
- Children between ages two and three. These little ones suffer about 24% of these dangerous incidents.
Parents should make sure that all their children’s daycare facilities, babysitters and other caregivers are also fully aware of these dangers.
Related Articles by Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer, Ed Smith:
Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Sacramento. If your child has been injured by a piece of improperly designed furniture and you need the assistance of a skilled attorney to get the justice you deserve, I can help. Please reach out to me at (916) 921-6400 or toll-free at (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. I can also be contacted anytime online through AutoAccident.com.
I have been serving the Sacramento community since 1982, helping those injured in accidents and their loved ones get back on their feet. You can read some of my past client’s reviews on the web at: Avvo, Google, and Yelp.
The Million Dollar Forum has recognized my work in securing million dollar case verdicts and settlements for my clients.
See some of my past Settlements and Verdicts here.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Keyhole Dresser by court2408. CC0 Creative Commons
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