Articles Posted in Child Injuries

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently announced a pretty big milestone. They were able to enroll the 500th Safe Routes Partner School. This is a program that’s federally funded but organized by MassDOT. It’s the first statewide program in the U.S. of its kind to achieve this level of school participation.

“This achievement is a testament…of our communities to make walking and bicycling safer and more widely used travel modes for our school children” says Frank DePaola, MassDOT Highway Administrator.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys understand that there are now close to 250,000 students from kindergarten through 8th grade in some 150 communities throughout the Commonwealth who are benefiting from the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School pedestrian safety initiatives and outreach education programs and services. The 500th partner to join the effort was the city of Woburn. The city reports close to 3,500 students currently enrolled. With more students involved in this program, we continue to help to make our young ones safer and reduce the risks of accidents through awareness and education.

The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Program is different from other states’ programs because ours provides a central source of Safe Routes services to every school that’s interested within the entire state. Schools that participate are provided with year-long bicycle and pedestrian safety education instruction, environmental and safety priorities, engagement initiatives and infrastructure improvements.

Safe Routes to School pushes the five E’s: Engineering, Evaluation, Enforcement, Encouragement and Education. Through stakeholders in the community and the partnered schools, the program works to improve children’s physical and mental health all while helping them to do so safely. These efforts are also working to help to improve air quality and cut down on traffic congestion.

Currently, the state has 25 Safe Routes to School projects going on that total close to $10 million. The safety program works alongside all members of various school boards to help to make sure that all schools are well equipped to help their kids to get to and from school safely.

Children are some of our most vulnerable pedestrians. They don’t oftentimes understand the dangers that accompany vehicular traffic and are at high risks for accidents — oftentimes fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every five children between the ages of 5 and 9 who were killed in traffic crashes was a pedestrian in 2008.

Altogether, there were close to 4,500 pedestrians who were killed in traffic accidents across the U.S. in 2008. There were another 70,000 pedestrians who were injured in these same incidents. This means that someone was killed in these accidents every 2 hours and injured every 8 minutes.

Typically, pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than motorists to be killed in a car accident on each trip.
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A bus carrying Thayer Academy kids was unfortunately in an accident recently. According to the Braintree Patch, the bus slipped out of gear when it was being loaded with baggage at Camp Bourndale. It rolled down some stairs and right into the camp’s function hall. Luckily, no one was injured in the accident.

Our Plymouth car accident lawyers understand that school buses are used for much more than getting kids to and from school. They’re used for after school activities, for camps, for church events and for so much more. It’s important that everyone knows how to behave in and around a bus to help to make sure that everyone remains safe.

Capt. John Rogers of the Plymouth Police Department likes to remind kids walking to and from school bus stops to always use crosswalks and to stay on the sidewalk. You should avoid walking alone too, stay with parents, guardians or a group of friends.’

You should never accept a ride from someone you don’t know.

Most kids in the area take buses to and from school and use them for after school activities.

First Student offers young passengers some safety tips to help to make sure that each and every bus ride is a safe one. Parents are urged to talk with their children about the safety tips listed below to help ensure their safety on buses of all kinds.

Bus Safety Tips:

-Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to get to the bus stop. If you have to rush, you may not follow safe traffic rules.

-Always walk on a sidewalk when there is one available.

-Always be alert. Don’t listen to MP3 players, play on phones or play hand-held video games. You want to know what’s going on around you.

-Don’t wear your hood up if you don’t have to. It makes it tougher for you to see.

-Wait for the bus away from the street. Stay at least 5 big steps away from the street.

-Avoid horseplay when waiting for the bus.

-Make sure that drivers can see you at all times.

-Wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching.

-Find a seat and sit down immediately once you’re on the bus.

-Never toss anything out of the bus’ windows.

-Make sure you know your bus driver’s name and your bus number to make sure you’re always on the right bus.

-Stay quiet on the bus so that the driver can concentrate on the traffic and work to keep you safe!

-If you drop something near the bus, tell the driver first! Never go down to get it.

-Stay away from the bus wheels at all times – especially the back wheels where it’s hard for the driver to see you.
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A young little league player is suffering from permanent and debilitating injuries from a line drive during a recent games. The family of the young boy went after the manufacturer of the bat used in the game to collect compensation for the injuries. They were recently granted close to $15 million from Little League Baseball. The young player was left brain-damaged after he was hit by the line drive off a metal bat. The family of the injured player said that this never would have happened, and would have been less severe, if wooden bats were used instead of metal bats, according to ESPN New York.

“This settlement provides them with some relief and comfort that Steven will get the care he needs for the rest of his life,” said the family’s attorney.

Our Boston sports injury attorneys understand that there are about 30 million kids and teenagers who participate in some form of organized sports. There are also about 4 million injuries that occur from these sporting events, too! While the most common injury from sporting events are strains and sprains, brain injury continues to the number one cause of sports-related fatalities among children, according to the Boston Children’s Hospital. Many of these injuries are the rest of collisions, being hit by an object, overexertion and falls. It’s not all about the games either. Roughly 60 percent of organized sports-related injuries happen during practice. About 20 percent of kids who play sports are injured every year. About a fourth of these injuries are considered to be serious.

According to the president of Little League Baseball Inc., the family will receive the funds that they need to ensure that they can cover the lifetime care that he will require as a result of this unfortunately accident. He adds that this type of accident is not likely in baseball among this age.

The tragic event happened when the young player was pitching. The batter swung at his pitch and sent a line drive right into the young pitcher’s chest. Unfortunately, it struck him at that exact millisecond between heartbeats and sent him immediately into cardiac arrest. He fell to the ground and stopped breathing. A nearby professional conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him until medical response teams could arrive.

Paramedics put an oxygen mask on him and rushed him to a hospital. Unfortunately by that time, the damage was already done to his brain as it had been without oxygen for nearby 20 minutes.

Children between the ages of 5- and 14-years old account for nearly half of all sports-related injuries that are treated in emergency rooms every year. The severity of sports-related injuries increases as they age, too! The highest rates for these injuries are for boy. For them, the highest rates of injury, in regards to sports, are ice soccer, hockey and rugby.
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You hear it over and over again — BUCKLE UP! Still, far too many drivers aren’t wearing their seat belt. According to a recent study from the University of Michigan, parents and other childcare providers aren’t buckling up their kids either! And when child restraints are used, they’re oftentimes used improperly. This varies between ethnic groups too, according to the study.

RedOrbit reports that car accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for kids in the U.S. who are under the age of 3-years-old. This wouldn’t be the case if more parents and guardians properly buckled in their kids. It’s a problem that only you can fix!

Our Boston child injury attorneys understand that kids face some of the highest risks for injury and death in the event of a car accident. Their little bodies can’t sustain the impact of a collision as well as our adult bodies. Parents and guardians are urged to review the most recent Guidelines for Child Passenger Safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“Selecting the right seat for your child can be a challenge for many parents. NHTSA’s new revised guidelines will help consumers pick the appropriate seat for their child,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

The study looked at more than 21,000 kids in vehicles and determined that far too many of them were seated correctly in a child’s car safety seat. WebMD reports that as children aged, they were less likely to be properly buckled in. At the same time, there were a higher proportion of minority children who were moved to using an adult seat belt before they were ready. In vehicles where the driver was not wearing a seat belt, the children were 25 times more likely to not be buckled in either.

“We found that few children remain rear-facing after age 1, fewer than 2% use a booster seat after age 7, many over age six sit in the front seat,” said Dr. Michelle L. Macy, an author of the study.

You should never move your child to the next phase of child seating before their ready. You want to keep your child in their car seat for as long as you can, or for as long as they’re within the height and weight limitations of the seat set forth by the seat’s manufacturer. Their safety and their well-bring depends on it. You have the ability to protect these young ones and to help to keep them safe in the event of a car accident.

Parents are urged to review the child seat recommendations before seating your child in the car. It’s also important that you read the guidelines from the car seat manufacturer. Consider visiting a child seat inspection station in the area to make sure that your child’s seat is properly and safely installed.
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A toddler from Haverhill is extremely lucky to have escaped almost certain death after a fall from a second-floor window in Lawrence.

According to local officers, the 20-month-old child was taken to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital after the fall and was treated and later released. The accident happened before 10:00 a.m., according to The Republic.

Police reports indicate that the boy pulled himself up onto a bench that was near an open window. He pushed through the screen on the window and fell to the pavement below. The boy escaped with only scrapes on his back and elbow.

Our Boston child injury lawyers understand that there were nearly 100,000 children treated for injuries sustained from falling from windows between 1990 and 2008. That means about 5,000 kids end up at the hospital every year because of these accidents. You might not think that it’s a big deal and that it won’t happen to you or your child, but the truth of the matter is that falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury and toddler death.

As you could believe, children are more likely to fall from windows when the weather’s a little warmer, like it is during this time of the year. Boys are more likely than girls to fall from windows, too.

According to a recent study from Pediatrics, children under the age of 4 are most likely to suffer from head injuries and to be hospitalized from head injuries. It doesn’t have to be a long fall either. Children who fall out of first-floor windows can end up in the hospital with some serious injuries. Make sure that your house has the proper safety precautions to make sure that children can’t access windows. Talk with their babysitters and other childcare providers to make sure that they’re taking the same safety precautions. You can never be too careful. This can help to drastically cut down on the risks for these kinds of accidents.

Homeowners, daycare centers, churches, hotels and landlords should consider placing cushioning of some sorts beneath windows, instead of concrete, asphalt or even plain dirt or grass. It’s also wide to block windows so small children cannot access them.

Other Safety Tips to Prevent Child Falls:

-Keep windows and doors locked whenever children are present.

-Never place any kind of furniture near a window. Children will climb.

-Always open windows from the top and not the bottom.

-Install child safety window guards.

-Always supervise children.

These kinds of falls are such a serious problem that the Boston Public Health Commission has launched the “Kids Can’t Fly” campaign. Falls are the leading cause of death for kids under the age of 6. It only takes a second for one of these accidents to happen, too. Be ready and take all of the necessary safety precautions to stop it beforehand. By combining education and engineering, we can help to protect children from dangerous falls.
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