If you are one of the many people that put on your suit of armor and valiantly battled the crowds during Black Friday or the recent holidays, you may have purchased a new television at a ridiculously low price. While families may engage in careful research before making such a purchase regarding details like refresh rate, resolution, Wi-Fi capability and more, most people do not research the potential risk of their new purchase causing injury to their children.
Although it might not occur to most parents that their children could be endangered by their television set, a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics found that approximately 17,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year for television-related injuries. To put this number in perspective, a child in the U.S. suffers a TV-related injury every thirty minutes.
This source of injury is even less intuitive to parents because the development of flat screen LCD and plasma televisions has made TVs thinner and lighter. Despite these advances, the number of children injured by television sets was 125 percent higher in 2011 than it was in 1990. These statistics suggest that lighter televisions have not been effective in mitigating injuries to children.
The majority of injuries caused by televisions involve the electronic devices falling off of various types of furniture. TVs falling from the surfaces where they are kept accounted for 12,300 TV-related injuries during a recent year. Approximately half of the injuries caused by falling televisions involved TVs that toppled off of an armoire or dresser. Since almost a third of falling televisions were located on a TV stand or in an entertainment center, these accidents can occur even when parents are careful about their selection of what type of furniture item to use for supporting their TV.
The study results provide insight into the most vulnerable age group and types of injury. Although the kids who suffered injury ranged all the way up to 18, children age 5 and under faced the greatest risk and accounted for over 2/3 of the kids injured by falling televisions. The most common injuries were head and neck injuries which was followed by injuries to the legs.
The researchers advocate the following suggestions to manufacturers to reduce the risk of children being crushed under the weight of following televisions:
• Redesigning televisions so that they are more stable and less prone to tipping
• Including warnings on packaging regarding the potential risk
• Equipping TV’s with anti-tip devices and/or safety anchors
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If your child is injured by a defective product, our Atlanta personal injury attorneys at Montlick and Associates have been representing injury victims for over thirty years throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.
