Tip-overs of chests, bureaus and dressers sent an estimated 1,800 children to hospital emergency rooms each year from 2020 through 2022, according to a newly released report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The “Product Instability or Tip-Over Injuries and Fatalities Associated with Televisions, Furniture, and Appliances: 2023 Report” also found that there were 79 fatalities across all ages associated with tip-overs of chests, bureaus and dressers from January 1, 2013 through July 31, 2023. Of the fatalities, 27 involved a television also falling, and 52 involved furniture only. Of the 52 furniture-only tip-over incidents, 38 involved children, 12 involved seniors, and two involved adults.

Other significant findings from the report include:

  • From January 1, 2013 through July 31, 2023, there were 217 reported fatalities involving tip-overs of furniture, televisions and appliances.
  • Of the reported fatalities, 55 percent involved children between 1 and 3 years old.
  • 94 percent of the reported fatalities occurred in residential settings, and 44 percent occurred in bedrooms.
  • From 2020 through 2022, an estimated 17,800 people were treated each year in hospital emergency departments for tip-over injuries.
  • Of that number, children under age 18 suffered 44 percent of injuries, amounting to a child being treated in an emergency department every 53 minutes.

Doesn’t the STURDY Act Prevent Dresser Tip-Overs?

The STURDY Act (Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act) went into effect on September 1, 2023, and requires that all dressers manufactured and sold in the United States after that date adhere to strict safety rules. Previously, the stability of dressers was governed by nothing more than a voluntary standard created primarily by the furniture industry itself.

However, the STURDY Act is not retroactive, and an untold number of unsafe and unstable dressers remain in use in people’s homes. Properly anchoring these dressers to a wall is critical to preventing tip-over injuries and deaths.

It is important to bear in mind that the STURDY Act only applies to dressers. Other household furnishings such as bookcases, entertainment centers and televisions also pose a tip-over risk, which can be reduced by wall-anchoring.

For information on wall-anchoring visit the CPSC’s Anchor It! campaign.

What Should I Do If My Child Is Injured by a Dresser Tip-Over?

Feldman Shepherd co-founding partner and product liability attorney Alan M. Feldman said that even prior to the STURDY Act, product liability law in most states has required that products be safe for their intended as well as expected use. “Furniture manufacturers are well aware that children may attempt to climb a dresser, pull out the drawers, or even sit in a drawer. When a child is injured by a dresser that is unstable and unsafe when used in an expected manner, the manufacturer bears legal liability,” Feldman said.

Feldman, along with partners Daniel J. Mann and Edward S. Goldis, has recovered nearly $100 million on behalf of four families whose toddlers died from IKEA dresser tip-overs. In another dresser tip-over case, the team recovered what is believed to be the largest recovery for the death of a child in New York.