What Are the Leading Causes of Unintentional Injuries In Children?

 Posted on December 09, 2019 in Uncategorized

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional injuries are the leading cause of mortality among children in the US. According to the CDC, approximately 12,000 Children die each year due to unintentional injuries. It is important to understand what an unintentional injury is, statistics of injury by age group, how to prevent these injuries, and what to do when negligence causes an unintentional child injury.

What is an unintentional injury?

The term “unintentional injury” is used to describe an injury that happens that was unplanned. Typically, an unintentional injury:

• occurs in a short period of time (seconds or minutes)
• has a harmful outcome that was not sought
• has an outcome that was the result of physical energy in an environment (trauma) or normal body functions being blocked (e.g. drowning)

Injuries by Age Group

Unintentional injuries are unfortunately common in children. The top three unintentional injuries amongst the following age groups include:

• Infants (younger than a year old)
  • unintentional suffocation
  • motor vehicle accident
  • drowning
• Toddlers (1 to 3 years of age)
  • drowning
  • motor vehicle accident
  • suffocation
• Children (three to nine years of age)
  • motor vehicle accident
  • drowning
  • fire or burn injury
• Middle childhood (nine to 14 years of age)
  • motor vehicle accident
  • unintentional firearm discharge
  • drowning
• Teenagers
  • motor vehicle accident
  • unintentional firearm discharge
  • unintentional poisoning

Accidents involving motor vehicles are the leading cause of unintentional injuries in children. This is a broad category of unintentional injury and can include children who are passengers in vehicles, children on bicycles, and children who are pedestrians at the time of an accident.

Preventing unintentional child injuries

Prevention should be on the top of all parents’ and guardians’ minds concerning unintentional child injuries. Looking at the list above, there are many injuries that could be prevented by vigilance on the part of adults.

• Unintentional firearm discharge can be prevented by the safe storage of firearms.
• Unintentional drownings can be prevented by properly gating pools and hot tubs.
• Poisonings can be prevented by securing cleaners, medications, and other chemicals out of the reach of children.

While not all car accidents can be prevented, properly securing children in child safety seats and the proper use of seatbelts can prevent many serious child injuries due to motor vehicle accidents.

Can you recover compensation in a lawsuit?

Many unintentional child injuries are caused by the negligence of another person. In some cases, this will be the negligence of another driver. In other cases, negligence occurs when an adult fails to take steps to ensure the child has a safe environment. Many unintentional child injuries occur due to the negligence of a child’s caregiver, babysitter, daycare worker, teacher, coach, etc.

Parents and guardians may be able to file lawsuits on behalf of their children in order to recover compensation after a child injury incident.

A skilled child injury attorney will obtain the evidence necessary to prove that negligence occurred. In attorney will work with experts to calculate a child's medical expenses and expected future losses due to the injury. Compensation for serious unintentional child injuries caused by negligence may be significant, and can include:

• Coverage of all medical expenses (past, current, and future)
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Possible punitive damages against the negligent party

When in Doubt, Contact Kanoski Bresney

If your child or a child you know has suffered a child injury due to the reckless or negligence of another party, contact our experienced team at Kanoski Bresney to schedule a free consultation. Our team can answer your legal questions and guide you towards your best legal options, at no cost to you. Our team also accepts cases on contingency, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we win. Contact our office or call (309) 353-9828 to learn more.