Sen. Casey introduces legislation aimed at protecting children from tipping furniture

PITTSBURGH — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey from Pennsylvania introduced legislation Thursday that’s aimed at protecting children from tipping furniture.

Falling furniture causes more than 25,000 injuries a year and can be fatal, as in the case of two Beaver County sisters who died in 2014. Brooklyn Beatty, 2, and Ryeley Beatty, 3, were climbing on a dresser when it fell on top of them, killing them. %

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Their parents, David and Jennifer Beatty, were arrested on child endangerment charges.

Now, Casey wants to make sure no parent experiences what the Beattys did.

Casey introduced legislation Thursday that would adopt stronger, mandatory stability standards for chests, bureaus and dressers.

“This is effecting a lot of children, and the industry should get it right,” he said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there are over 25,000 furniture, TV and appliance tip-overs every year.

“Sadly, we know that a child dies every three weeks from a TV tip-over and a lot of times they involve furniture,” Kate Carr, of Safer Kids World Wide, said.

Carr said there are inexpensive, simple steps that can keep children safe.

“What parents need to think about is, 'How do I secure my furniture?'" she said.

The steps include mounting flat-screen TVs and securing heavy furniture to the wall, recycling old box-style TVs instead of keeping them stored on a dresser and avoiding the placement of remote controls, food or toys in areas where children might be tempted to climb up or reach for them.

Casey’s legislation is called the Sturdy Act. For more information on securing furniture,

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to visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website.

Cox Media Group