A child in the U.S. is sent to the emergency room every 30 minutes for injuries related to falling televisions, according to a new study.
The number of children injured by falling TVs surged to 125 percent between 1990 and 2011, an average of more than 17,000 annually, according to the study released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Head and neck injuries were the most common.
"As consumers buy flat-screen TVs, older cathode ray tube TVs are often moved to less safe locations in the home, such as onto dressers and other furniture not designed for TVs," said Dr. Smith, president of the Child Injury Prevention Alliance.
But flat-screens and tube TVs are equally to blame. Experts say flat-screens should always be mounted securely to a wall. All other TVs should be tethered with safety anchors or anti-tip devices.
According to the study, 215 children died between 2000 and 2011 of falling television-related injuries.
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