Everyone knows that having a gun laying around the house is an obvious hazard to young children. But can having an old television laying around the house be as dangerous?
In the third reported television falling on a child death in recent months, four-year-old Gianna Hadjis was killed after a TV fell on her head in a University Park home, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
So far, University police are describing the death from the box-style television a "horrible accident," but the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) may take a closer look anyway especially given the recent string of similar accidents.
In late November, we wrote about the deaths of Karl Clermont and Shaniya Singleton, killed in separate instances when a TV fell on them at their homes.
In the most recent incident, the parents of the girl were apparently home at the time of the accident, reports the Sun-Times. While this may help show that the girl was supervised, the DCFS may want to look into the placement of the television and whether it was carelessly placed and was an obvious hazard to small children.
The DCFS generally has the power to remove children from a home or charge a family with child neglect if children are improperly supervised and live in dangerous conditions. For example, having young children living in the home of someone who owns multiple unlocked loaded guns may be reason to initiate removal proceedings.
While an old TV is obviously not as dangerous as an unlocked gun, the recent string of deaths do show that improperly placed TVs and curious children can be a fatal mix.
The television falling on child death of Gianna Hadjis is probably a very tragic and unfortunate accident. However, as these deaths become more frequent, parents should take steps to remove the hazard.
Related Resources:
- Find a Chicago Family Law Attorney (FindLaw)
- 'We just need to learn from this.' Girl, 4, dies after TV set falls on her (Chicago Tribune)
- Child Abuse (FindLaw)
- Ask A Question about Family Law now (FindLaw Answers)
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