Does Your Stove or Range Have Anti-Tip Protection?
Some of the most catastrophic and deadly injuries have occurred as a result of stoves tipping over, crushing and burning young children in its path. Most free standing, slide in, and drop in ranges manufactured since the fall of 1988 included an anti-tip device which is essential to the safe operation of the product.
The anti-tip bracket provides protection when excess force or weight is applied to an open oven door that is typically not used on high low ranges. Many times, accidental deaths and severe burn injuries occur when the brackets are not correctly installed or not installed at all.
Stove manufacturers and the government have been aware of stove tip over accidents for at least five decades. Many times retail installers or custom installers fail to properly affix the anti-tip brackets and according to an industry survey, anti-tip brackets are not being installed close to 90% of the time - simply an accident waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, the most vulnerable victim of stove tip overs and burn injuries are children. To play it safe, our experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers and consumer safety advocates recommend a careful inspection of your stove and oven to eliminate the potential of tip over injuries and death.
The fix is relatively simple. An inexpensive L-shaped bracket mounted on the back of the range has been required by industry standard since 1991. However, many older stoves and newer ranges do not have them. Our concern is that many innocent consumers and parents are totally uninformed about this potentially dangerous situation.
