According to a research study from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (and published in journalPediatrics), between 2002 and 2011 the yearly number of children treated on an outpatient basis in hospital rose from 228 to 438 and children admitted to the hospital due to severe injury increased from 26 to 48. Anecdotal evidence suggests that other hospitals across the country and in Florida are also seeing an increase in the number of child and teenage patients.
Researchers are not sure whether there are more head injuries occurring or whether there is more awareness and caution when it comes to head injuries. It is true that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sports associations, and pediatricians have been paying closer attention to sports injuries in recent years and awareness about the dangers of head injuries has increased.
Researchers from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center say that more research is needed about childhood brain injuries and more laws are needed to prevent serious injury. Researchers would like to see more helmet laws that would require helmet use during skiing, snowboarding, cycling, and other risky sports. Most of the people injured in the study were playing football or basketball when they suffered their injury. Between 2002 and 2011, researchers noted, the average severity of injuries dropped, which made researchers hopeful that parents and school staff were getting the message about the dangers of head injuries.
According to safety experts, there are several things that parents can do to prevent serious head injuries and child injuries in Homestead or their communities:
1) Choose sports programs carefully. Sports injuries in Homestead and across the country are a leading cause of head injuries, fractures, and other injuries. While there is no reason to avoid sports entirely, make sure your child is enrolled in a reputable sports program with a good coach and encourage your child to work on conditioning and build up to more demanding activities within sports.
2) Encourage your children to think safety first. If safety equipment is required for the sport, your child should wear the equipment each time they play – even during practice. Teach your child how to stay safe in the sport.
3) Do respond cautiously to head injuries. If your child does sustain a head injury or spinal cord injury in Homestead or another community, get medical advice right away. Take your child out of the sport until a doctor determines that it is safe to return. Even minor concussions can become serious if your child sustains a second head injury before healing fully.
Has your child been injured? Flaxman Law Group is a full-service law firm and part of the Homestead community. The attorneys at Flaxman Law Group have more than 60 years of combined legal experience and have already helped thousands of families recover more than $100 million in personal injury cases. If you would like to know whether you have a case, you can contact Flaxman Law Group today for a free, no obligation case evaluation.