Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) an average of 12,175 children age 0 to 19 die each year in the United States from unintentional injuries? Preventable injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the United States, with an estimated 9.2 million children receiving emergency room treatment related to unintentional injuries. Fortunately, with a little foresight and by exercising certain precautions, many of these injuries can be avoided. The seven most common causes of childhood injury are as follows:
- Transportation accidents: According to the CDC, transportation accidents are the greatest cause of child injuries, including car accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. To prevent these types of injuries, it is recommended you always make sure your kids buckle up or are secured in a properly installed car seat, check around your car for playing children prior to backing up, and always supervise your children while riding their bikes, scooters, or skateboards.
- Choking, strangulation, and suffocation: Very young children put pretty much everything in their mouths and can easily choke. Likewise, drawstrings, cords, or ribbons can become tangled around a child’s neck and cause strangulation. Parents can minimize these hazards by keeping cribs and beds away from windows with blinds or cords, keeping small items away from children, and by learning emergency first aid for choking and CPR.
- Drowning: Drowning remains a leading cause of death for kids under the age of 14, with even small amounts of water posing a drowning risk for young kids. Supervision around swimming pools, spas, whirlpools, and bath tubs can be particularly crucial to preventing these injuries, as well as ensuring your child uses an approved life vest while swimming.
- Poisoning: The CDC estimates that more than 300 children are treated for poisoning in emergency rooms in the United States every day. Commonly swallowed or ingested poisonous substances include shampoo, aftershave, perfume, cleaning products, hand sanitize, e-cigarette fluids, incorrect doses of prescription drugs, and carbon monoxide from gas appliances.
- Fire and burns: Children are frequently burned from excessive sun exposure, electrical shocks, stovetops, ovens fireplaces, scalding liquids, lamps, and lit cigarettes. To minimize this risk, be sure to install smoke alarms on every floor of your home, never leave cooking food unattended, keep pot handles out of reach, and set you water heater to no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Falls: While falls and tumbles are inevitable while children learn to stand, walk, run, and climb, some falls can cause more serious head injuries, bone fractures, or contusions. Some of the most common places children fall from include highchairs, beds, stairs, play equipment, ad shopping carts.
- Sports injuries: Muscle pulls, heat stroke, extreme dehydration, concussions, and broken bones frequently result from participation in sports. Be sure to encourage your children to engage in proper warmup routines and take frequent rest breaks, as well as ensure they wear the proper safety gear while engaging in an athletic activity.
While vigilant supervision can prevent most of these injuries, nobody can ever truly foresee the negligent actions of another person. If your child has been injured by a dangerous product or due to another party’s carelessness, contact the knowledgeable Toledo child injury attorneys at Williams DeClark Tuschman Co., L.P.A. today. Having recovered more than $50 million in verdicts and settlements for our injured clients, our powerful advocates can guard your child’s rights and help you pursue full and fair financial compensation for their suffering. Call (419) 719-5195 or contact our office online today to review your legal options.