When you have a small child in your home, you must take precautions to ensure that your home is safe for the child. Even with the best supervision, children move quickly, so minimizing potential hazards is essential. Most parents childproof their homes by securing cabinet doors, placing harmful chemicals out of reach and blocking access to electrical outlets. However, parents often forget that certain types of furniture in the home can pose a risk to children as well.
TV Stand Seriously Injures Boy in Georgetown
One such case recently occurred in Georgetown, Texas. A small boy was climbing on an unsecured TV stand, rocking it back and forth with his weight. The rocking caused the TV on top of the stand to fall on the child. After the incident, the child was initially unresponsive, and he remained in a coma for five days. He was later diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Although the child will undergo treatment for this condition, he will likely deal with symptoms and complications for the rest of his life. His mother is now doing everything she can to warn others about the dangers of unsecured furniture in the home.
TBI is a terrible diagnosis for any child. To avoid these types of injuries in the home, parents should secure any furniture that could tip over to the wall. This includes dressers, bookshelves and TV stands. Parents should also secure heavy items, such as TVs, whenever possible. In addition, parents are encouraged to keep heavier items on lower shelves where they are less likely to fall on a child’s head and cause serious injury. As children get older, they should be instructed to avoid climbing on furniture or pulling on items on a high shelf.
Traumatic brain injury is a common diagnosis among children who have had an accident involving unsecured furniture, but it is not the worse consequence. In fact, studies have shown that one child dies every two weeks as a result of an accident involving unsecured furniture. Thus, adults must do everything in their power to prevent these accidents from occurring.
In some cases, a child may be injured by unsecured furniture on another individual or company’s property. Likewise, some of these injuries are directly related to a defect in the furniture itself. If your child has developed TBI or another injury after encountering unsecured or defective furniture, you may qualify for compensation. Contact a personal injury attorney in Texas to learn more.