Every year, more than 93,000 emergency room visits result from young children injured on stairs, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics. That means a child is injured every six minutes, as you can see from this ABC News story.
87% of the children injured are on their own, not being carried.
When children start walking, they don’t have the sense of danger that older children have, and they don’t take precautions to prevent a tumble down the stairs.
Although recent evidence points to a decline in the number of children injured on stairs in the past ten years, there are still many children injured, and many of the injuries are to the head. Toddlers and younger children are top-heavy and often fall head first.
The story goes on to say, “In another sobering statistic, one-quarter of children younger than 12 months old were injured while being carried by a parent or caretaker. And they were three times more likely to be hospitalized with serious injuries.”
There are ways to prevent these injuries. If you are carrying a child less than a year old, make sure you have a good grip on the child. Make sure you’re not too tired, and you have sure footing.
Have stair gates at the top and bottom of the steps. If the steps are padded, the helps prevent injuries. Keeping clutter away from the stairs is also a good idea.
If you or someone you know has a child who has been injured on stairs, you may want to investigate ways to recover. The experienced attorneys at Krause Law Firm can help you understand your rights, and possible ways to recover medical expenses and damages. Give us a call today for a free consultation.