5 Sep 2012

Coroner urges parents to secure heavy items

11:33 pm on 5 September 2012

A Coroner has urged parents to make sure heavy furniture and appliances are made secure after a chest of drawers and TV set fell on a boy and killed him.

Christopher Devonport says this is especially important in light of the series of earthquakes in Canterbury.

The case involved an Invercargill boy who died in July. The three-year-old's name is suppressed.

The Coroner found that the boy had climbed up on the chest in an attempt to turn on a TV that had been placed on top of it. The chest and TV fell on him, causing fatal injuries.

Mr Devonport described the boy as an active and adventurous three-year-old who did not appreciate the dangers he was facing.

He noted the TV was so heavy, it had needed four people to put it on the chest.