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Last Modified: May 2, 2023

Types of Accidents Involving Children

The home is considered to be one’s comfort zone and the safest place for the family. Nowadays, the home has become the site of many accidents involving children. If your child is involved in an accident in someone else’s home, our Utah child accident attorney can help you get compensated for your child’s injuries. The NHS Choices listed the types of accidents involving children that usually happen inside homes. These accidents are often associated with the child’s age and level of development. These include:

  1. Falls – This is the most common type of accident and accounts for 44% of all children’s injuries in home and mostly involve babies and children learning to walk.
  2. Suffocating and Choking – Babies and young children often explore the world using their mouths. Small items such as coins, marbles, removable toy parts, and even buttons in their clothing, are choking hazards. Pillows, plastics, and pets that jump onto beds can suffocate unattended babies and young children.
  3.  Fires – Children sometimes play with matches, lighters, and cooking stoves without you being aware; all of which can start fires. This is the reason why parents and adults should keep sources of flame and flammable materials out of children’s reach. Never leave young child unattended with these things accessible.
  4. Burns and Scalds – NHS identified hot drinks as the most common cause of burns and scalds among children under five years of age. This is because a young child’s skin is more sensitive than adult’s and water that has been boiled for as little as 15 minutes can cause serious damage to children. Hot bath water is also reported to be the biggest cause of severe and fatal scalding injuries in young children. NHS added that children can also get burns from open fires, cookers, irons, hair straighteners and tongs, cigarettes, matches, lighters, and other hot surfaces.
  5. Poisoning – Medicines, household cleaning agents, and even cosmetics are identified as leading substances/materials that are ingested by children leading to poisoning incidents.
  6. Glass-related Injuries – Keep bottles and materials made from glass out of children’s reach. Toddlers may reach for these items causing them to fall and break resulting in injuries if cut by the pieces.
  7. Drowning – Keep bathrooms and toilet lids closed or locked if you have young children at home. Unfortunately, it is all to common that young children are left unattended near or in water and this has resulted in devastating deaths of these children.
  8. Garden ponds – As mentioned, any open water can pose danger to young children as most don’t know how to swim or know how to get out of the situation. Place safety grills or a cover or possibly fill in the pond to avoid drowning accidents in the garden.

Aside from homes, vehicles such as motorcycles, ATVs and cars can be potential sources of accidents involving children. Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study from 2001-2004 and found out that motorcycle crashes had resulted to nonfatal injuries among children and teenagers. Off road motorcycle riding injuries include fracture, internal injury, and head injury. Cases were defined as injuries among patients below the age of 19 years who were injured while riding off-road as the driver or passenger on a motorcycle. Consumer Product Safety Commission, on the other hand, reported that out of the 2,775 ATV-related fatalities of children younger than 16 years of age, 1,184 (43 percent) were younger than 12 years of age. Children are usually passengers in an All-Terrain Vehicle that are driven by adults. Children sustain injuries in car accidents especially if they are not properly placed in their car seat or restraint. There are laws that require parents to make sure their children are riding safe in cars, legal consequences may follow if you are not following these safe precautions properly. If your child has been injured in a Utah accident from someone’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering your child has endured because of the incident. Call Christensen & Hymas at 801-506-0800 for a free consultation.

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