DiFiore said her staff had recently investigated the death of a four-year-old child in Westchester County who was killed when a 32-inch tube television fell off a dresser. The DA's office is responsible for determining whether such incidents involve a crime (no charges were filed) and then turning over the information to the county's Child Fatality Review Team.
Tipover incidents can occur in an instant, as two of our staffers demonstrated with a TV that had been place atop a dresser. When a 50-pound weight—the equivalent of a small child—was placed in one of the drawers, the dresser fell forward onto the "child" (a doll) and the television crashed to the ground. Gasps could be heard from some of the journalists at the press conference. (See the video.)
Between 2000 and 2006, there were 87 fatalities reported in the U.S. related to televisions falling and 95 percent of those fatally injured were children less than 10 years of age. To help prevent such accidents DiFiore's office along with Consumer Reports is offering the following tips, Preventing TV tipovers, which are also included in a PDF you can print out.
- Place televisions on furniture that is sturdy and appropriate for the size of the TV.
- Furniture holding the TV should be anchored to the floor or wall using brackets, screws or braces. It is best to use hardware provided by manufacturers.
- Avoid placing TVs on dressers and chests, as children may be tempted to use the drawers to climb and may cause the furniture or TV to topple
- Make sure that the TV does not hang over the edge of the furniture base and that it is positioned as far back as possible
- Place electrical cords out of a child’s reach, and teach children not to play with the cords
- Keep items that might be attractive to children, such as toys and remote controls, away from the top of the TV or TV stand
shocking, I have the same setup in my house, taking it down now!!!
Makes sense! What about the new flat screen TVs. They are heavy!
I perform product testing for a furniture manufacturer. There is a cencensus standard (ANSI/UL 1678-2003) that should be met by all furniture manufactures of entertianment stands. Unfortunately that is not the case. Many manufacturers either lack the knowledge of the existance of this standard or chose not to meet it because it is considered "voluntarty". Compliance with this standard should be mandatory for all units intended to support a television. Before you purchase a piece of furniture take the time to try to find out of it meets these standards.
Well i don't have that situaton, but I do worry about our 42inch on its very own very small pedistal.. what to do to secure that?
Gasp! I never really thought about the numbers. 87 fatalities related to TV sets falling down is a lot! And that video sure was disturbing. No parent should be careless enough to put a heavy television set atop a furniture piece that's not intended for a TV. That's what furniture television stands are made for! I know TV stands or TV consoles are relatively pricey, but there are also affordable ones that look stylish and elegant enough. And hey, when we're talking about our kids' safety, nothing is too expensive. A decent TV stand should be considered an investment.
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