Deaths and Injures by Falling TV's and Furniture are on the Rise

A recent study and recent stories in the news have showed that children being injured by and dying from falling furniture and televisions are on the rise.  The Century for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Ohio reviewed reports from over 100 hospitals from 2000 to 2007 which revealed that 14,700 children on average went to the hospital per year for furniture related injuries between those years.  Out of those 14,700 furniture related injuries over half of those injuries were because of falling televisions and over 300 per year resulted in death.

Many people are wondering why the amount of children getting injured by falling tv's are rising while the televisions seem to be getting lighter with more and more people purchasing flat screen tv's.  The reason points to two seperate issues:

• Many people purchase flat screen televisions that are larger than the older models of televisions that were sold before.  Some people purchase 50" flat screen televisions to replace an older 32" television.  Regardless of the fact that flat screen televisions are lighter than older bulkier televisions when you are considering a 50" flat screen tv falling on a child it is still heavy and can do a lot of damage.
  
• Some flat screens are not very stable and can be easily knocked over
• Some people who replace their older heavier televisions with a flat screen television take their older televisions and put them in a different room.  Sometimes the "different room" is a toddler or young child's room.  Becuase some people do not have TV stands for their older TV they put the TV on a piece of their childs furniture.  Putting a television on a dresser or another high or unstable piece of furniture can be very dangerous to children and if it falls on a child can crush them because of the weight of the television.

In the past couple of week at least five children nationwide have been injured by falling televisions, one of the children was from near this area in New Jersey.  Things you can do to reduce the chances of your child getting injured by a falling television are the following:

• Do not place your television on unstable furniture
• Do not place your television on high furniture
• Make sure if you have a flat screen TV that is properly mounted on the wall or placed securely on a television stand.