Home Safety Tips: Could a Tip-Over Accident Occur in Your Residence?

Millions of homes across the country contain safety hazards that are responsible for thousands of injuries to children each year. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a child is injured every 30 minutes in a furniture tip-over accident. Bookcases, television sets, dressers and chests could fall on your child with thousands of pounds of force.

There are a couple of reasons why these accidents occur. Children can be injured while playing with or trying to climb on top-heavy furniture. Tip-over accidents can occur when heavy objects are placed on weaker pieces of furniture. Defective furniture products also cause accidents because they are more likely to tip over.

Can I Prevent a Tip-Over Accident?

You could take steps to secure your top-heavy furniture if you have small children. The following steps could reduce the chances of a tip-over accident in your home.

1. Anchor your furniture. You could purchase wall anchors or anti-tip devices to keep furniture from falling. Newer furniture products are typically sold with anchors. These should be installed right away. Anchor any television sets that are not mounted to the wall.
2. Keep tempting objects off furniture. Children may be tempted to climb furniture to grab toys or remote controls. These objects should be removed from furniture that could tip over.
3. Use sturdy furniture to hold heavy objects. Only place a television set on furniture designed to hold a television. Heavy objects should not be placed on weak dressers or tables that cannot support the weight. The manufacturer’s guidelines should specify the weight limit.
4. Consider using drawer stoppers. Tip-over accidents can occur when the drawers on chests or dressers are pulled all the way out. You could purchase drawer stoppers to prevent this from occurring. These devices prevent drawers from being pulled out past a certain point.
5. Check for recalls. Furniture products have been recalled by the manufacturer. For instance, IKEA recalled millions of its MALM dressers and chests that are linked to eight fatal tip-over accidents. Target recently recalled dressers for similar reasons. You can check the recall status of furniture items by typing the manufacturer or product name into the CPSC’s website.

Contact Our Washington DC Product Liability Lawyers for More Information

Children cannot be expected to recognize why top-heavy furniture is dangerous. Parents depend on manufacturers to release products that are designed to reduce the risk of tip-over accidents. If your child was harmed during a tip-over accident, then it is possible a defective product is to blame. The Washington DC product liability lawyers at Regan Zambri Long PLLC have extensive experience with defective product lawsuits. We could discuss your situation at no cost.