Risk of Falling Furniture

The CPSC wants to underscore to all of us on the hazards of falling furniture, a problem few Americans spend much time worrying about. To do so, it relives a haunting tragedy of an 11-month-old infant who died while watching TV with his father. The child’s older (2 years old) brother bumped into the furniture holding the TV and the TV fell onto the baby’s head and abdomen. In another tragic case, a little three-year-old girl died from falling furniture in the garage last month.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people are injured each year. During the first decade of this century, the CPSC received reports of 245 tip-over-related deaths involving children 8 years old and younger. It is an incredible statistic. Imagine 245 dead kids over something you probably have never given two thoughts. Crazy. Over 90 percent of the incidents involved children 5 years old and younger. In more than half of the 245 fatalities (56%), the child was crushed by the weight of the television, furniture, or appliance. Most of the fatalities are from falling televisions and two-thirds of fatal injuries are, not surprisingly, to the head.

The solution is simple: inspect and anchor furniture and TVs now, to protect young children from a preventable tragedy.