# Kids killed by falling TVs have people calling for warning labels **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270 "2006-05-10T20:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/41 "2006-05-11T16:30:45Z")
It’s not the TV’s fault for being heavy, it’s the dresser’s fault for tipping. Dresser manufacturers should have to include TV straps. Then those straps could hold other objects, like if someone wanted to display a boulder on their dresser. The warning labels are not there to protect the consumers, they are their to arm the company lawyers when a consumer does get hurt. Oh, you want to sue us because you placed a lit torch at the base of your dresser and it collapsed as you were trying to escape from the mysterious smoke that was rising up from it? Too bad, we put a warning label on it about that exact circumstance, so we have no liability. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/42 "2006-05-11T16:50:49Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > The warning labels are not there to protect the consumers, they are their to arm the company lawyers when a consumer does get hurt. If that were the case here, the companies would be taking their own initiative instead of people tying up Congress by trying to force them into it. Come to think of it, tying up Congress might be a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/43 "2006-05-11T17:41:59Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > We have a 42-inch set, sitting on a short stand, on thick carpet. The TV just fits the stand, and I think we need to get a bigger one (stand, not TV). Incorrect. You always need a bigger TV. Definitely a case of too much is never enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/44 "2006-05-11T18:11:23Z")
Is there any possibility that a warning - or the inclusion of anchors, would be treated as an admission of the inherent potential danger of TVs, and be used against the manufacturer/seller in liability lawsuits? And then, is liability enhanced should the anchors fail? One reason your workplace has procedures and warnings is that they are largely liable for injuries that occur on their premises and to their workers and customers. Not sure that really applies to consumer goods in your own home. IMO the manufacturers do enough if their documentation contains some language instructing that the TV be placed on a sturdy stand fit for the purpose of holding a TV, and that tipping is a potential danger. And I would be surprised if their documentation does not already contain such language. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/45 "2006-05-11T18:31:48Z")
> [@Fromage A Trois](#): > > I’m not sure this is an accurate analogy. We use cable ties on computer cords etc in my office too, and it’s all for the good - if someone were to trip over my poorly-arranged workstation then I can hardly just say “you’re stupid”. However, if _I_ do, then I’ve only got myself to blame. Do your banker boxes have labels on them saying “don’t stack higher than this”? Do the computer cables have labels saying “warning: people can trip on these, or strangle themselves”? They might do, I don’t know - and if they don’t, should they? What I mean is, making sure that items are stored safely is a good thing - but labelling everything with the possible ways it can harm you may be over the top. > > The company I work for has just started putting up generic “think safe!” signs to remind us. They’ve been up a week, and already they’re just background now - I don’t think we’re any less likely to do something without thinking about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if these labels would just fade into the background too. > > I bought a 28" TV last night, and put it on a TV stand which says it is suitable for TVs that size. I didn’t see a label or any kind of warning anywhere in the instructions or the box about where it should be placed (or even that moving 46kg of electronics on your own is a stupid thing to do). This could be because there aren’t any, it could be because they aren’t prominent enough, or it could be just because I didn’t look. I looked at the manual once, to see how best to connect it to the DVD player. > > That’s where I think these labels would fall down (pardon the pun) - the kind of people who put 40" TVs on 25 degree inclines covered in oil and ballbearings are not the kind of people who read the safety labels. “What’s this? Warning… yada yada yada… yeah, whatever”. The more things have warning labels on about what really is just common sense, the less attention will be paid to warning signs that really are necessary - so although all the TV manufacturers will be covered legally, children will still die when these accidents recur. And the impact of warning labels on unusual items that common sense can’t help you with will be diminished. Couldn’t have said it better myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/46 "2006-05-11T18:37:49Z")
Fact of the matter is glass tube televisions have been getting very, very large and more commonplace, are extreeeemly heavy, are very, very front heavy. The Sony 36" WEGA weighs in at 216 pounds. While they are extremely heavy to pick up and move, tipping one over onto it’s face can be done with two fingers, even with it sitting flat on the ground. I don’t know what putting warnings on them will do but I agree with requiring them to have a way to secure the bottom-back of the tv to a stand. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/47 "2006-05-11T20:04:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Accidents don’t happen because people are stupid - lots of smart people are killed in accidents - they usually happen because people become inattentive. Visual reminders are a good way to remind people of safety tips and rules. Like you say, some accidents can happen to anyone. It just takes a little bit of inattention to trip and fall on something- stupid but understanable. But being hurt by a heavy object? Stupid, but unexplainable. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/48 "2006-05-11T20:22:03Z")
Out of curiosity (and boredom at work on a rainy afternoon) I surfed over to the Sony website and pulled up the owner’s manual for the 36" WEGA (same model as in the **Dinsdale** basement.) On the page headed “ **IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS** ” I easily found the following: _Do not place the set on an unstable cart, stand, tripod, bracket, table, or shelf.The set may fall, causing serious injury to a child or an adult, and serious damage to the set. Use only a cart or stand recommended by the manufacturer for the specific model of TV. Any mounting of the appliance should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and should use a mounting accessory recommended by the manufacturer. An appliance and cart combination should be moved with care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces may cause the appliance and cart combination to overturn._ For the illiterate consumer it includes a couple of nifty little cartoons – one of the TV wobbling on a tippy pedestal table, and another with a tipping cart (including the internation circle/slash warning). I’d say that’s plenty of warning. Unless you’d like it printed in 6" high glow-in-the-dark letters across the screen… In case you are wondering, they also warn you not to pour liquids down the slots on the back of the TV… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/49 "2006-05-11T21:12:05Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Is there any possibility that a warning - or the inclusion of anchors, would be treated as an admission of the inherent potential danger of TVs, and be used against the manufacturer/seller in liability lawsuits? And then, is liability enhanced should the anchors fail? I’m not a lawyer, but I believe the answer is no. I read about this somewhere – maybe here. It’s also not an admission if you fix something after someone’s been injured. Warnings and fixes shouldn’t work against a manufacturer. That’s what I remember anyway. It makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Omphaloskeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bcef8e/32.png) [@Omphaloskeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omphaloskeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/50 "2006-05-11T22:04:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But nobody has suggested that we need to remind people that heavy things are heavy so they know they’re heavy. The suggestion being made, quite specifically, is that consumers be warned about how such objects should be mounted or placed to prevent the likelihood of a tipping accident, which is important, as it happens, because they’re heavy. > > … > > I’m just less interested in sounding all ironic and superior and more interested in examining the issue from the perspective of good safety practice. > > Safety around elevated objects is in fact a significant issue in the workplace and home, one that I’ve only seen seriously addressed in the last ten years or so. Good safety practice is about eliminating the probability of accidents, not just saying “hyuk hyuk hyuk, only dumb people get hurt,” which is nonsense. You make the reasonable point that falling objects are dangerous (though the statistics I’ve seen, such as [these](http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm), show that drowning is quite a bit more dangerous). But do you have any reason to believe that adding another warning label or an anchor strap is going to change people’s behavior and actually improve safety? Does anyone actually heed all the warnings already present? Do you unplug your TV before cleaning, dusting, or polishing it? Do you ensure that all TV attachments are manufacturer-approved? Do you always turn the TV off when not in use, and unplug it when it will be unused for long periods of time? Is there sufficient ventilation along the sides and rear? Do you clean the vents regularly? (… ever?) I found all of these warnings in one Sony TV manual (near the front, of course–it’s the part that everyone skips when trying to figure out where to plug in the TiVo), along with, yes, a warning not to put the TV on an unstable platform. The problem, as I see it, isn’t a lack of warnings; the problem is that there are too many warnings, given for problems of widely-varying severity and likelihood, all listed together in a format which just about ensures that nobody will take any of them seriously. The Sony manual I randomly downloaded had six pages of warnings, together with helpful illustrations showing idiots in various stages of electrocution and other pre-emergency-room activity. A couple of the warnings might actually be useful and important, but not many people are going to spend the time reading through all six pages to try to figure out which are which when they could just plug in their new toy. So what’s the solution? I dunno. I suspect that liability concerns have unnaturally and unnecessarily expanded the number of warnings listed; it’s far cheaper for a company to print a warning, or even print a dozen variations on the theme of “Don’t be an idiot,” than to defend against a single lawsuit, even against something which might best be termed a “freak accident” rather than a design problem. (One of the articles linked to in the OP points out that about six kids are killed by falling TVs per year, less than 1% of those who drown. There are probably far more cost-effective ways of reducing childhood deaths than strapping down the TV.) But printing all those warnings (and putting them in the **manual**! Nobody reads the manual!) dilutes the importance of any warnings which may not be Immediately Obvious to the Casual Observer, and so might not only fail to improve safety but even worsen it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/51 "2006-05-12T14:37:18Z")
> [@Omphaloskeptic](#): > > But do you have any reason to believe that adding another warning label or an anchor strap is going to change people’s behavior and actually improve safety? Good question. At fifty cents an item, I’d say it’s a good wager either way. I know I would be quicker to secure bookshelves, TVs and such if the restraining brackets came with the item. ---
**Author:** ![Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fromage_A_Trois)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/52 "2006-05-12T15:03:58Z")
> [@Omphaloskeptic](#): > > There are probably far more cost-effective ways of reducing childhood deaths than strapping down the TV. Strap down the child! 🙂 And I agree with everything else you said. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/53 "2006-05-12T17:24:12Z")
I just can’t believe that I seem to be the only one hearing Jeff Foxworthy on this topic: Jeff Foxworthy"When I was a kid, we had a nine-hundred-pound television on a TV tray! My dad’s philosophy was, 'Let ‘em pull it over on themselves, they’ll learn!’"[/Jeff Foxworthy] Seriously, though, I can’t get over a mother actually stating that she was utterly unaware of any dangers. I must just be paranoid, because every time my kids do anything that could remotely (heh) cause injury, I’m all, “Now be careful, don’t climb that, leave that alone, etc.” I can’t understand how someone could have \*no idea at all \*that a TV is heavy, and if pulled, pushed, or climbed on _might tip over_!! ---
**Author:** ![Omphaloskeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bcef8e/32.png) [@Omphaloskeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omphaloskeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/54 "2006-05-13T01:59:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Good question. At fifty cents an item, I’d say it’s a good wager either way. This isn’t obvious to me. I’m not convinced that $.50 (plus 15-30 minutes of labor, don’t forget) is a good estimate of the total cost of including the warning and strap: What if strapping down the TV makes people feel safer while causing them to ignore some more important warning? 50 cents per TV works out to, what, $50 million in the US? I bet there are ways to save more than 6 kids per year with $50 million. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/55 "2006-05-13T17:51:53Z")
> [@Chanteuse](#): > > (snip)… I can’t understand how someone could have \*no idea at all \*that a TV is heavy, and if pulled, pushed, or climbed on _might tip over_!! Actually, if you think on this a moment, this is the easiest part to understand. Human Ego. She don’ wanna look stooopid. It is the default reasoning that lead to the statement that mystifies me … \*"Let’s see now… my child just got squishted. I don’t want anyone to think it happened because I’m not a good parent, so I’ve got to come up with an excuse that absolves me and places the blame somewhere else … Oh yeah, the manufacturer. I blame them! The fact that it makes me look and sound like an idiot doesn’t matter at all – because … Then I can also blame the schools for not teaching me …"\* How to think. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270/56 "2006-05-14T13:38:18Z")
Kinda reminds me of the warnings I see on vending machines: “Tipping or excessive rocking of this machine can result in serious injury or death.” Uh, D’uh! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-killed-by-falling-tvs-have-people-calling-for-warning-labels/356270.md?page=2)