TV, Furniture Tipping Deaths Hit Record in 2011

December 16, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on December 17, 2012

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that 41 consumers were killed in 2011 when televisions, furniture or appliances toppled over onto them.

That number is the highest recorded in a single year, according to the commission.

"We know that low-cost anchoring devices are effective in preventing tip-over incidents," said Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC chairman. "I urge parents to anchor their TVs, furniture and appliances and protect their children. It takes just a few minutes to do and it can save lives."

CPSC estimates that more than 43,000 consumers are injured each year in tip-over incidents. More than 25,000 (59 percent) of those injuries are to children under the age of 18. Falling furniture accounts for more than half (52 percent) of the injury reports. Falling televisions have proven to be more deadly, as they are associated with more than half (62 percent) of reported fatalities.

Some reports indicate that as families purchase or transition to flat screen televisions, older and often heavier televisions are moved into bedrooms and other rooms in the house, without the proper stand or anchoring device accompanying them. The report said that 40 percent of reported fatalities occurred in bedrooms and 19 percent occurred in living rooms or family rooms.