0203 764 9380You may not think that furniture could be dangerous, however when these items tip-over, serious injury can and does occur.
Over the last 20 years, the number of injuries from furniture has increased dramatically, suggesting more needs to be done to prevent these injuries.
What Causes Tip-overs?
- When Furniture, especially tall items such as wardrobes and shelving that have a higher centre of gravity are overloaded
- Insufficient accessibility to reach items up high (stool or stepladder) encourages the furniture to be used to ‘reach up’
- Children climbing the furniture or pushing it over
Who is at Risk?
- Most injuries occur to children younger than 7 years of age
- Young children are not able to think about the danger of their actions. They are often not fast enough to avoid a falling piece of furniture, or strong enough to lift the furniture off of themselves if they are trapped
Injuries
- 50% involved children under the age of 18 years
- 37% involved adults under the age of 59 years
- 13% involved seniors aged 60 years or older
Fatalities
- 83% involved children under the age of 14 years
- 4% involved adults between the ages 28 to 59 years
- 13% involved seniors aged 60 years or older
Prevention Tips
- Secure all such furniture to a wall using appropriate wall fixing brackets
- Do not overload shelving, place heavier, more bulky items at the bottom
- Provide suitable access equipment such as a kick stool or step ladders to ensure people do not over stretch
- Secure all loose objects, consider using plastic storage boxes to contain items that may fall
- Do not place items of interest such as toys up high. Children may try to climb up the furniture to reach these items
Tufferman provide wall brackets for all ranges of garage shelving, industrial shelving and workbenches and strongly encourage customers to use them on all shelving and racking.