Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Paralegals & Legal Secretaries Blogs -> Practical Paralegalism

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

: Practical Paralegalism

Paralegal Student Warns Unsecured TVs Pose Danger to Children

By Lynne DeVenny

ADVERTISEMENTS

In 1986, when my oldest daughter was a little over a year old, I was folding clothes in the living room while she played nearby.

I didn't see her near the entertainment center, and I didn't know that anything was amiss - until I heard a loud crash.

I whirled around to see our heavy old TV set lying in pieces on the floor. My daughter was surrounded by broken glass and screaming like a banshee.

By some miracle, she wasn't even scratched, but I've never forgotten how close she came to serious injury, or worse.

Connecticutt paralegal student Sylvia Santiago wasn't so lucky. Her two and a half year old daughter, Janiyah Powe-Santiago, was killed in July after a friend's heavy television set fell on her.

Santiago, now studying to be a paralegal, said she never thought about the danger posed by a heavy television set on a low stand. She said she struggled through Janiyah's birthday last month and that the approaching holidays feel like "round two."
"People think 'It will never happen to me; I'll have my child forever; something like this will never happen to my child,'" she said. "Well, it did happen to me, so I don't want anyone to think twice about securing their furniture."

I'm sharing this story to help raise consumer awareness of the dangers of unsecured television sets.

Also, Sylvia Santiago has my deepest sympathy for the loss of her daughter, Janiyah. I admire her for working to help other parents avoid the same dangerous circumstances.

Source: The Associated Press

Related Post from momlogic with link to Consumer Product Safety Commission's website: "Falling TV Kills 3-Year-Old Girl"

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on December 14, 2009 (boomark / email).