They don’t make ’em like they used to! While our appliances tend to be lighter as technology advances, they’re also sleeker and more likely to tip over. Unless you have another explanation as to how we end up under our appliances so often.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) collected ER reports from around the U.S. and found that 22,500 of our annual visits are related to furniture and appliance tip-over injuries.
Of course, when it comes to furniture, we’re thinking some of those are moving-related as well as due to our penchant for buying cheaper products that require us to construct them with a tiny wrench that comes in the box.
And then there are the obvious injuries that happen when our furniture is not secure and children are around. (How often do you use those little wall secure devices that come with bookshelves and console tables?)
The report was released right before the Superbowl, and it’s obvious that flat-screened TVs are a big culprit here, whether they’re on tables or wall-mounted.
According to Newsweek:
“The agency’s report assessed data on what it refers to as “tip-over incidents,” in which a heavy piece of furniture, a television or another appliance falls onto an individual and causes injury or death. The average number of injuries resulting from tip-over incidents reported annually between 2018 and 2020 was 22,500, the report said. About 17,900 of those injuries involved a combination of a piece of furniture and a television, while about 3,700 injuries were attributed to a television that tipped over without the involvement of a piece of furniture. An additional 900 injuries were attributed to appliances.
All of the 22,500 annual injuries required treatment in a hospital emergency department, the CPSC said.”
Source: “Thousands Injured by Falling TVs Every Year, Report Warns Before Super Bowl” — Newsweek