Florida Injury Attorney Blog

The older style cathode ray tube TV's can pose a serious risk of injury or death for young kids. Many adults do not realize that they have this very dangerous condition in their homes that has injured or killed almost 15,000 children since 1990. According to a new report, the number of serious injuries and deaths from falling furniture and TV's has increased over the years despite the fact that more people are buying the newer, and lighter, flat screen TV's. One reason suggested for the increased number of injuries and deaths to young kids is that when people buy the newer model flat screen TV's, they move the older and much heavier TV's to an unstable location in the house, perhaps onto an old piece of furniture.

The majority of serious injuries and deaths caused by falling furniture involve televisions, particularly the older model TV's which can be very heavy and are often front heavy. Many of these TV's were designed in such a way that they can be easily tipped over or can easily slide off a surface despite their heavy weight. This allows young kids to more easily tip them over and forward by playing with the TV or climbing on a cabinet or dresser where the TV sits. Most of the serious injuries and deaths caused by falling TV's involve children under the age of 4.

There are things people can do to reduce the risk of a heavy TV falling on a child. First, all TV's in the house should be located to determine if they are in an unsafe location where they can be easily tipped over or they are sitting on unstable furniture that is not designed to hold the TV. There are TV stands for sale that are designed to safely hold TV's and make it very difficult for young children to tip them over. Anchoring the TV to the wall is also helpful in stabilizing a TV so that it will not tip over from the TV stand. Heavy and tall furniture, such as dressers, should also be anchored to the wall to prevent them from falling over when a child climbs on them to reach something on a higher shelf.