Protect Your Children from Defective Bureaus and Entertainment Centers

Few people think of furniture as a deadly hazard, but thousands of people end up in the emergency room when defective furniture injures them at home. Children in particular are vulnerable to defective items around the home, especially entertainment centers or bureaus. Any piece of furniture which is taller than it is wide is at risk of tipping over, and tragedy can result when it lands on a child. Protect your family by properly fastening shelves and other items to the wall and watch for manufacturers’ recalls of dangerous items.

Why Children Are At Risk

Each year, about 12,000 children end up in the hospital with serious injuries after a piece of furniture falls on them. They struggle with serious injuries, including organ damage, brain injuries, concussions, and more. Tragically, around 2-3 children die each month from furniture accidents.

The most dangerous pieces of furniture include:

• Bookshelves
• Entertainment centers
• Bureaus or chests of drawers
• Nightstands

Each of these items tends to be much taller than it is wide, so they are inherently unstable. Even worse, adults usually place heavy items on top of them, like a TV on top of an entertainment center. The extra weight increases the odds of the furniture tipping over onto a child.

Young children who are learning to walk can grab onto these pieces of furniture when trying to stand. Consequently, they pull an already unstable item toward them, triggering an accident.

Young children are not the only ones at risk. Even an elderly person might grab onto an entertainment center for stability, only to fall backwards with a TV landing on top of them and suffering rib fractures and complications.

Concerned parents can make sure to use the bracket which comes along with a bookshelf or bureau. This bracket will anchor the piece of furniture to the wall, increasing stability.

The federal government has also passed new safety regulations. Manufacturers must test their products to ensure stability and, if the product causes accidents once on the market, the manufacturer should issue a recall.

Families can also regularly check the Consumer Product Safety Commission website for the most recent recalls. Typically, the manufacturer encourages you to dispose of the dangerous item, or you might return it to the manufacturer for a refund.

Contact a Miami Product Liability Attorney to Discuss an Accident

Anyone injured by a defective product should seek compensation in a product liability case. Manufacturers are liable when they sell hazardous products with a design or manufacturing defect. The failure to provide safety instructions can also make a product too dangerous, resulting in preventable accidents and injuries.

Contact Pita Weber Del Prado today to speak with a Miami product liability attorney about your accident. We ask that you preserve a defective piece of furniture for our inspection, since it could serve as the centerpiece of your claim. Avoid delays. We can seek financial compensation for medical bills, income loss, and pain. We can also bring a wrongful death action if a loved one perished.

Source:

upi.com/Health_News/2021/08/26/children-home-safety-furniture-tip-study/6391629999268/