As a parent, you want to do everything possible to keep your child safe. While you take measures at home to protect your child; for example, you cook on the back burner to avoid burns, you mop up slick surfaces to avoid falls, and you install outlet covers to avoid electrocution, once your child steps outside the front door, you can't totally keep them safe.
We don't want our children to suffer, whether it's a dog bite, a bump on the head, the common cold, or a broken bone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most childhood injuries can be prevented. In fact, the CDC reports that:
- Injuries are the leading cause of death in children 0 to 19.
- Each year, almost 9 million children ages 19 and below are treated in America's emergency departments.
- Over 9,000 children die as a direct result of injuries every year.
- In children, treating injuries is the leading cause of medical spending.
- The estimated cost of unintentional injuries in children in the U.S. is over $11 billion a year.
Common Causes of Childhood Injuries
Childhood injuries are commonly caused by:
- Falls
- Domestic violence
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Drownings
- Poisonings
- Suffocation
- Medical negligence
As a parent, keep an extra close eye on your children when they are:
- In the bath
- In or around water – pool, beach, lake, river, creek
- Near driveways, sidewalks, and roads
- In the kitchen – near the stove or oven
- Visiting away from home
Unfortunately, we can't wrap our kids in bubble wrap – as much as we'd like to. Even when we exercise the most caution and care, they can still be injured in a car accident, while at school, or visiting a friend's house, or virtually anywhere while visiting public or private property.
Since children lack the knowledge and maturity to fully understand the consequences of their actions, they are not held responsible when they get hurt.
If your child was injured in an auto accident, while swimming at someone else's pool, or attacked by a dog, or if he or she was otherwise harmed by someone else's negligence, we urge you to contact Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law for a consultation.
As a Bergen County personal injury attorney, he can answer your questions and determine if you have grounds to file a claim for compensation!