Glass table dangers revealed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Months after an 11-year-old Providence girl died after falling through a glass coffee table in her home, Eyewitness News has learned glass tables are linked to thousands of injuries nationwide. Often times they involve children, and sometimes those accidents, like the one in Providence, are deadly.

Safety advocates and doctors say the injuries and deaths could be prevented, and they are pushing for strict manufacturing regulations, so these tragedies don't happen again.

Christiana's Story

Mariama Sarty came here from West Africa to make a better life for her family.

She said she doesn't have much, but does her best to furnish and make a nice home for her children.

"If I [knew] my daughter would have died on glass table, I wouldn't buy it. No!" Sarty said.

It was December 2008, when 11-year-old Christiana Sarty was playing in her family's living room in Providence and fell through a glass coffee table. Large pieces of glass punctured the girl's leg and she lost too much blood. Christiana, who would have turned 12-year's old this month, ended up dying from her injuries.

The accident happened while a family friend watched Sarty's three children. Mariama was on her way home from work.

"When I [went] to the hospital the doctor tell me, 'Oh, your daughter didn't make it,'" she recalled.

Now, a grief stricken mother clings to memories of her bright, helpful little girl.

"She liked to read, she liked to go to school, she liked to clean up. She was a good girl," Sarty said.

Hidden Dangers

Sadly, Christiana's accident isn't uncommon.

Dr. Mark Waltzman from Children's Hospital Boston said glass table accidents aren't as rare as you might think.

"Since 1992, there have been seven cases of people dying of glass table injuries. Thousands more are injured each year," Waltzman said.

Waltzman and his team reviewed emergency room cases at Children's Hospital Boston in collaboration with Consumer's Union.

He said a simple change in the type of glass used in furniture would lead to fewer injuries and deaths.

"We would like to see glass furniture be mandated to be made out of tempered glass, similar to automobile windshields, that's tempered glass," Waltzman said.

Right now no such mandate exists, which means other families could face the tragedy that Mariama knows all too well.

"If I was the government, I would pass the law. No more glass tables here," she said. "You know, our innocent children die through glass tables, like my daughter. I can't replace her."

Some furniture companies do use tempered glass, but there is no way to tell just by looking at it.

Right now, consumer groups are working on a voluntary standard to make glass furniture safer.