Toppling TVs falling on toddlers caused more than 15,000 emergency room visits a year between 2011 and 2013 and led to 279 deaths from 2000 to 2013, new research shows.
Researchers of a
study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics this week said that televisions, which have grown larger over the years, often represent hidden
dangers for children, according to HealthDay.com. Young children often don't understand the dangers of falling TVs and may be more likely to climb on or near a television stand or other piece of furniture supporting a heavy TV.
"Injuries to children caused by falling televisions have become more frequent during the last decade," the study's abstract stated. "These injuries can be severe and even fatal and are likely to become even more common in the future as TVs increase in size and become more affordable."
"The vast majority (84 percent) of the injuries occurred in homes and more than three-fourths were unwitnessed by adult caregivers," the study continued. "The TVs were most commonly large and elevated off the ground. Dressers and other furniture not designed to support TVs were commonly involved in the TV-toppling incident."
An estimated 96 percent of deaths related to toppled televisions were caused by brain injuries, with children ages 1 to 3 representing the group most likely to suffer head or neck injuries.
"People who buy TVs need to secure them in ways that children don't get injured by them," study co-author Dr. John Wellons, a professor of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said.
Lead researcher Dr. Michael Cusimano, a professor of neurology, education, and public health at the
University of Toronto, told the "Today" show that adults should be more aware of the location of their TVs and also where their children are.
"As a hazard in the home, it's the perfect storm," he said. "Kids are left unsupervised around a big television that is not properly secured. And the numbers are going up. Between 2006 and 2008 there were 16,500 injuries and between 2008 and 2010 there were 19,200. If you look at the sales of these TVs there's a parallel increase."
Scott Wolfson, communications director for the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, told "Today" that there are many options when it comes to anchoring TVs and furniture.
"The solution is so simple," he said. "There are straps that can be easily purchased to anchor to the wall. There are L-brackets and tethering devices."
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