The girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital. Her mother said she heard a crash from the bedroom of her home in the 1300-block of West 76th Street around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. She found her child trapped under the TV after the girl apparently tried to climb a dresser.
The girl suffered critical injuries but survived.
"We're seeing a lot of head injury and internal organ damage. Children end up with seizures, numbness, head injuries as well. So very, very severe injuries," Dr. Alison Tothy, Comer Children's Hospital.
Four children have died from falling televisions since October. Earlier this week, a 1-year-old boy died after a large television fell on him, causing fatal head injuries. In January, Gianna Hadjis, 4, died after a TV fell on her in her University Park home. And back on Oct 30, Carl Clermont, 6, of Arlington Heights, died when he climbed up on a TV which then toppled over and crushed him.
Dr. Tothy says the hazard has to be front and center in parents' minds
"The key is that it is totally preventable. If you secure furniture and your TV, you can prevent this," said Dr. Tothy.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is planning to launch a national conversation on social media to highlight awareness of one of its most frustratingly preventable problems.
"Next week we hope to have a Twitter conversation, turning to social media to have a conversation about the danger and the steps that can save lives," said Scott Wolfson, CPSC. "We want to be in areas where people use the Internet and where they don't use the internet so that everybody gets this warning out there."
To that end retailers are focusing on offering consumers easy fixes to tether televisions and furniture -- solutions that cost little money or effort
"Those TVs are very heavy so any movement will knock that off of there," said Scott Philp, Home Depot Lincoln Park. "So you can basically get a strap and screw it on to the back of the TV and screw it on to the wall with an anchor and make sure you go through a stud, and that will give you the security you need to prevent it from falling on a small child."
"I just heard about another little kid that got killed by a TV last week," said Lenice Miniefield, who lives nearby the child's family. "Too close to home".
"I actually just purchased a TV so I hope I got the right thing for my TV set," she said.
