The Consumer Product Safety Commission has documented 84 injuries and 33 deaths caused by tipping stoves from 1980 to 2006. Most injuries and deaths occurred to infants and toddlers who opened the oven door and stood on it to reach something on the stove top. The children are injured when the appliance tips and the hot contents of the stove top spill. Infants are killed when the mass weight of the stove crushes them.
Anti-tip brackets have only been required by industry standards since 1991, and many older stoves may not have them. Consumer groups contend that even some newer ranges do not have them. The problem is far from over.
Two deaths were recorded in 2007 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. One occurred in October in Elmira, NY, after an 18-month-old boy and his 3-year-old brother tried to reach cookies on top of a stove. The range tipped over, killing the baby. In December, an 18-month-old girl in Bradenton, FL, died after a stove fell on her.
All stoves have the potential to tip over, but the problem can be prevented with an inexpensive, L-shaped bracket mounted on the back of the range.
Both Home Depot and Lowe's install a free wall or floor bracket with every stove purchase. In February 2008, Sears settled a class action lawsuit regarding injuries associated with tipping stoves. The company agreed to fix all brands of its kitchen ranges in as many as 3.9 million homes by bolting them to a wall or floor. The settlement also requires Sears to install safety brackets in newly purchased ranges for the next three years.
