Articles Posted in Injuries to Minors and Children

Sports injuries are a significant cause of teen and child injuries in Hollywood and other Florida cities. While sports can be a great way to keep children in shape and an important way to build leadership and other skills among students, sports teams can also create a risk of sports injuries in Hollywood and other communities. Now, a new study suggests that injuries among high school athletes may be higher than previously thought.

The study, by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, looked at high school basketball players taken to emergency rooms between 2005 and 2010, comparing them with athletes treated by athletic trainers. According to the study, about one million high school students take part in basketball programs at their schools each year. Between 2005 and 2010, 1,514,957 student athletes were given treatment in emergency rooms across the country for sports injuries related to basketball. Athletic trainers handled 1,064,551 basketball injuries during the same time frame. More serious injuries were usually handled by emergency departments while more minor ailments such as strains or sprains were generally treated on site.

The study also found that less than half of the country’s high schools have athletic trainers available, meaning that injured high school athletes were often taken to emergency rooms after being injured. Researchers believe that hiring more qualified athletic trainers at high schools is crucial, as it can ensure that student athletes can get prompt medical care as well as care so that they can heal safely. According to the researchers, proper use of athletic trainers can help injuries evaluated at once and can help ease some of the burden placed on emergency room departments.

As far back as 1998, high schools were encouraged by the American Medical Association to hire athletic trainers and physician directors to keep student athletes safe. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, however, by 2009 only about 42 percent of sports teams in high schools had this type of athletic medicine unit available for student athletes. This lack of on-site care can mean that student athletes are taken to emergency departments when their injuries don’t warrant it and it can also make it harder for some injuries to be detected correctly onsite.

Qualified athletic trainers and physician directors can help student athletes by providing:

•Fast triage and evaluation of injuries
•Treatment and diagnosis
•Health advice
•Medical supervision to ensure that student athletes only return to play when it is safe to do so
•Injury prevention strategies
If your child has been injured in a high school activity due to inadequate supervision in Hollywood or your community or because an athletic trainer was not available, you may wish to speak with a personal injury attorney. You may have a claim that lets you seek justice and compensation while also pushing your child’s school to adopt safer practices for their sports programs. Sometimes, legal action pushes school boards to make safety changes that can prevent serious injuries.

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Pedestrian accidents are a leading cause of child injury in Hollywood and other cities. Whether your child walks to school or walks to a friend’s house, they may be at risk of drivers are distracted and make mistakes on the road. There are some things that you can do, however, to keep your child safer:

1) Evaluate where your child walks. Children are more likely to be involved in a traffic collision in Hollywood if they are walking in high-traffic areas, high-speed areas, or urban spaces with few green areas. Areas with high numbers of parked cars are also a risk. If your child walks to school or routinely walks to a friend’s house or other destination, walk that route with your child to consider the hazards. Consider whether there are safer ways to get to the same destination. If not, at least discuss safety along the route or consider having your child walk with an adult or friend if the area is not pedestrian friendly.

2) Install a rear-view bumper camera on your car. One type of pedestrian accident that can affect child is a backover accident, in which a driver backs up over a child because they cannot see the child. The reality is that a child standing behind a car may not be visible to the driver. This is especially a problem with SUVs, vans, and larger vehicles. It is not very expensive to install a camera that eliminates this deadly blind spot on your car, and installing the simple device (available at most car parts stores and hardware stores) could help prevent a backover accident in Hollywood or your community.

3) Teach your child about pedestrian safety, but do not overestimate their ability. As soon as you can, teach your child about looking both ways before crossing a street and teach them how to walk safely. However, keep your expectations realistic. A small child may hear the phrase “look both ways” many times but still run across without looking when excited or distracted. Continue to walk with your child and provide extra supervision until he or she learns to stay safe.

4) Encourage your child to travel with a group. Once your child is old enough to walk to school and other destinations by themselves, encourage them to walk with friends. A group of pedestrians is always easier for motorists to see.

5) Do not assume your child is safer because they are not walking. Bicycle accidents in Hollywood can be just as deadly, as can skateboard accidents. If your child is out and about and sharing roadways with cars or crossing the street, they are at risk and you will want to take steps to reduce that risk. If your child is getting about by bicycle, skates, or skateboard, they may actually be in more danger because they can move more quickly, reducing the amount of time a motorist has to prevent a collision.

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Researchers at the University of Calgary are hoping to devise ways to cut youth sports injuries by up to 20% by the year 2020. Over a third of youths suffer a serious sports injury, according to the researchers, and the scientists hope to work with more than 20 researchers across the world to develop plans for injury prevention. In the meantime, safety experts and researchers maintain that there are many things that can be done to prevent sports injury among children and youths:

1) Change the rules in youth sports to reduce violence. According to the University of Calgary researchers, rates of concussions could be reduced by changing the rules – by banning body checking in ice hockey games among younger children, for example.

2) Create stricter rules regarding initial head injuries. One of the issues with brain injury patients in Homestead and other communities is that initial head injuries can make further injury even more serious. A child who has sustained a concussion, for example, can be vulnerable to a life-threatening head trauma if they are hit on the head again before the first injury has healed. Safety experts recommend that when a sports injury in Homestead or another community occurs, it is important to get the player checked out by a doctor and to avoid returning the athlete to the game until a doctor confirms that they are fully healed. It is also important to get a doctor’s checkup for any head injury, since some head injuries – even those that do not seem serious at first – can be life-threatening.

3) Ensure proper use of sports equipment at all times. Contact sports require helmets to prevent head injury while other sports may require mouth guards, special padding, and other safety equipment. Pediatricians and doctors agree that everyone plays a role in making sure that student athletes and youth athletes wear the right safety gear. Coaches should encourage students to wear the right gear, even in practice. Parents can ensure that their children have the right gear at all times and schools can step in to provide a budget for safety equipment. The challenge with youth athletes is that gear can get worn down or outgrown, so there needs to be many checks in place to make sure that athletes are protected.

4) Use sports-specific injury prevention techniques. Each sport has its own dangers. Cheerleading, for example, has a high fall risk, which can mean a danger of spinal cord injury for Homestead and Florida athletes. Practicing on padded floors and keeping pyramids smaller can help reduce some of the risk.

5) Hire coaches and support staff carefully. Coaches should be carefully trained to provide a safe environment and there should be policies in place to ensure that athletes train safely.

6) Build athlete’s skills gradually. One of the most common causes of youth sports injury in Homestead and other communities, according to safety experts, comes from athletes trying too much too soon. It is important that athletes build skills and strength gradually, never trying moves or plays that exceed their skill level.

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According to new research published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, parents may want to be more careful around shopping carts in order to avoid childhood injuries in Hollywood and other communities. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that between 1990 and 2011, shopping cart injuries led to hospitalizations for 530,500 American children in the 14-and-younger age range.

Researchers found that the most common injuries related to shopping carts involved children tumbling from the carts. About 70% of the injuries in the study resulted from falls. Tipping carts, children running into a cart or falling over one, and children getting body parts trapped in a shopping cart were also common reasons for injuries.

For children who are injured in shopping cart accidents, head injuries are most common. Hollywood parents will want to take steps to prevent these potentially life-threatening injuries on their next shopping trip.

According to researchers, soft tissue injuries were also quite common in shopping cart injuries. Between 1990 and 2011 the study found that concussions and other head injuries increased by more than 200 percent. Many of these injuries affected children younger than four and these injuries continued to occur even after shopping cart safety standards were passed in 2004. Since the implementation of those standards, closed head injuries and concussions have actually increased and overall shopping cart injuries involving children have not decreased.

According to researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, more needs to be done to prevent falls and shopping cart tip-overs in stores. They suggested that placing child seats on shopping carts close to the floor could help prevent many injuries each year. They also recommended better restraint systems in shopping carts and an education program to alert parents about using shopping carts safely. The researchers also suggested that stores and store employees can do more to educate parents about shopping cart safety belts and other safety systems available.

According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there are many things that parents can do right now to prevent these types of shopping cart injuries from affecting their children:

•Choose alternatives where possible. Placing a child in a shopping cart should be a last resort. Walking with a child through a store or using another system can be safer. If you must use a shopping cart, try to use one that has a child’s seat that is close to the ground.
•Supervise closely. If you do need to place your child in a shopping cart, do not leave them alone or turn your back – even for a few seconds. A child can make the shopping cart top-heavy and a moving child in the cart can easily fall out.
•Use the shopping cart safety straps. Make sure that your child is seated in the cart and that the child’s legs are placed through the leg openings, with the straps snug and in place. If there seems to be anything wrong with the shopping cart, choose another cart and report the defective one to a store manager.
•Use extra caution if your child is an infant. Placing an infant carrier on top of a shopping cart makes the entire structure even more precarious. In these situations, it is better to use child-care or a stroller or carrier.

If your child is injured in a store, consult with a personal injury attorney in Hollywood to learn about your options.

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A new study published in the journal Pediatrics has concluded that across the US, about twenty children and minors are hospitalized each day due to firearms injuries. According to the study, there were about 7,391 hospitalizations for children and minors in 2009 as a result of guns and firearms. About six percent of these cases resulted in fatalities. Robert Sege of the Division of Family and Child Advocacy at Boston Medical Center was co-author of the study.

Clearly, more needs to be done to prevent this type of injury to minors and children in Miami and across the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that firearms injuries overall have been declining over the past ten years. However, for teens between ages 15 and 19, firearms remain the second leading cause of fatalities. Only car accidents cause more accidental fatalities among this age group.

According to Sege and the other researchers in the study, firearms injuries to minors and children are a public health concern for a number of reasons. One problem is that children who suffer from gun-related injuries usually need expensive and extensive medical care after their injury. They may require social services, mental health services, follow-up treatment, surgery, home care, rehabilitation, and other medical assistance.

Sege’s research provides a snapshot of gun-related personal injuries in Miami and across the country. According to the study, 75% of gun-related hospitalizations affecting children under the age of 10 involved accidental injuries. About 52% of injuries from firearms included open wounds, while 50% involved fractures. About 34% of gun-related injuries affecting children involved internal injuries, especially injuries to the pelvis, thorax, or abdomen.

The study also concluded that about 89% of children and teens admitted to hospitals for firearms injuries were males. The injury and hospitalization rates for firearms injuries were highest for children between the ages of 15 and 19. Researchers also found that African-American children and teens accounted for 47% of all firearms-related hospitalizations. In about 54% of these cases, the injuries resulted from assaults and in about 36% of cases injuries occurred due to accidental or unintentional causes.

Sege and his researchers noted that more needs to be done to determine exactly why these injuries occur. In the meantime, Sege agrees with the American Academy of Pediatrics that guns should not be stored in a home that had teens or children. If guns are present in a home where children and teens live, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that they be stored locked and unloaded, with ammunition stored and locked in a separate location in the home.

It is already devastating when child injuries occur in Miami and other communities. For families, however, gun violence can be especially traumatic because it does cause serious injuries while being so preventable. More needs to be done to prevent this type of personal injury in Miami from affecting our children.

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Parents in Homestead spend a lot of time worrying about their child’s diet. If you have a small child, though, you will also want to consider how they are sitting down to eat. According to a new study published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, accidents and injuries involving high chairs have been increasing over the past decade.

According to the study, about 9,500 high chair injuries each year require emergency room treatment. Most of these injuries involve children who climb the chair or stand in the chair and therefore fall from it. Since these chairs are higher than kitchen chairs and since flooring in dining areas and kitchens tends to be hard surface, children are likely to suffer from head injuries and facial injuries from these types of falls.

The study also concluded that children have a center of gravity that is closer to their chest, which can increase the likelihood of landing on their heads in a fall. In fact, the study’s authors found that three out of ten children who suffered a high-chair related injury suffered a facial injury while six out of ten experienced a neck or head injury.
The authors concluded that there are several things that parents can do to prevent these types of child injuries in Homestead and other communities:

1) Use safety restraints wisely. In many of the cases that the study authors examined, children were hurt in chairs where the safety restrains were not used properly or where the restraints were not working correctly. Use safety restrains each time, and put them in place before lowering the tray. The tray itself does not act as a restraint or safety measure.

2) Choose the right chair. Buy high chairs used, since you are less likely to be affected by wear and tear, recalls, or outdated safety measures with a new chair. Check online to see whether the manufacturer has a good safety rating or whether the manufacturer has had products liability claims in Homestead or other cities filed against them. When choosing a chair, choose one that meets the weight requirements for your child. If your child is too large for the chair, they can easily topple the chair and if they are too small, they can easily slip through the safety devices.

3) Place the chair on level ground. Also, position it in such a way that it will not be bumped by others in the kitchen or dining area. Avoid placing the chair near items that may attract the child and cause him or her to try to reach out of the chair.

4) Do not leave high chairs unsupervised. These chairs, by their very design, are heavy. Do not leave a child alone for even a minute in them. In many cases, head injuries in Homestead and other cities occur in seconds, so even a second of inattention is a second too long. Even when your child is not in the chair, consider it storing out of your child’s reach so that they do not attempt to climb it.

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Child injuries in Hollywood and other communities are always devastating, but they can be especially tragic when they involve amusement park rides. Children and families head to rides at amusements parks, malls, and fairs to create memories and to give children a day of fun. These types of outings should never end in tears and emergency room visits, but according to a new study this is exactly how a surprisingly number of these trips end.

According to a recent study by the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy, about 4,423 children, on average, sustain serious injuries and are taken to emergency rooms across the country each year due to rides at amusement parks, malls, and fairs. These injuries peak during the summer months, when over 20 children daily visit ERs due to ride injuries.

The study looked at more than 93,000 ride-related injuries that occurred across the country between 1990 and 2000. These injuries affected children under the age of 17. According to the researchers, while 93,000 injuries may seem like a very high number, the actual number of injuries may be even higher as the figure only represents injuries serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.

Researchers found that the most common ride-related injuries for children included soft tissue injuries such as whiplash. These injuries accounted for 29% of ER trips. Strains and sprains were also very common, accounting for 21% of injury-related hospital visits. About 20% of hospital visits involved lacerations or cuts while 10% involved fractures. In addition to these injuries, brain injuries and spinal cord injuries in Hollywood and other communities – as well as a host of other injuries – were reported.

In fact, the head seems especially vulnerable when it comes to child ride-related injuries. The study revealed that in about 29% of ride-related injury cases involving a trip to the ER, the neck or the head were affected. About 24% of hospital visits involved arm injuries while facial injuries accounted for 18% and leg injuries accounted for 17% of emergency room visits.

Researchers found that more than two thirds of hospital visits due to ride injuries occurred between May and September. The study also found that children involved in injuries sustained on mall rides were more likely to suffer head injuries and injuries sustained through falls when compared with children injured at amusement parks. Less than one-third of all ride injuries involving children involved falls. However, three out of four injuries sustained at mall rides involved a fall.

Obviously, more personal injuries in Hollywood and other cities are linked to rides than many people realize. Parents may want to consider the safety record of an amusement park, fair, or ride before taking their children to a park.

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For children, the holidays are a magical time and in most families, gifts are a major part of the season. When family and friends buy toys for the holidays, they of course expect their gifts to be safe. Unfortunately, each year child injuries in Hollywood and other Florida cities are caused by dangerous toys.

Each year, product liability claims are launched in Hollywood and across the state because customers are injured by poorly designed or defectively manufactured products. When those products are unsafe toys, Hollywood families can be especially devastated. No child should be injured by a toy, but each year, children suffer burns, choking, cuts, lacerations, fractures, facial injuries, and other serious injuries due to unsafe toys. Toy manufacturers have an obligation to provide well-designed toys that are safe for children, but in some cases toys are poorly designed or mistakes are made in the manufacturing process that cause unsafe toys to reach store shelves.

To keep the children on your gift-giving list safe this year, be sure to follow these tips when going shopping:

1) Pay special attention to choking hazards. According to The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2012 over 250,000 children across the country needed emergency care due to toy-related injuries. The most common injury suffered was choking. When selecting toys, make sure that any small magnets in the toy cannot fall out. On stuffed toys, make sure that small parts such as eyes are well attached.

2) Avoid toys that can cause pinching. Toys with movable parts can pinch a child’s fingers if there is enough space for the child to insert their fingers.

3) Do not buy used toys. While some toys may be a family tradition, passed down from generation to generation, older toys may not have been made to today’s safety standards. Buying unused, new toys may be safer. Keep family keepsakes as heirlooms and provider newer toys for playtime.

4) Watch out for toys with sharp parts. Even some toys that seem safe may have sharp edges that can cause cuts. Be especially wary about airplane wings, toy weapons and swords, and toy vehicles, as these can have dangerously sharp edges.

5) Read about toy safety and toy recalls before you shop. You can check to see which toys have been recalled recently and which toys have good safety ratings online. Once you get to the store, this information can help you shop.

6) Avoid toys with long cords or strings if the gift recipient is very young. Very young children can choke on long strings or cords and toys with long strings also pose a risk of strangulation. Long ribbons, cords, strings, and loops can become tangled around a young child’s throat.

7) When buying fabric toys or toddler’s clothing, look for anti-flammable materials. Make sure that fabric items are marked with a Underwriters Laboratory ( UL) listing.

8) Consider age when buying gifts. A gift or toy that is very appropriate for an older child can pose a fatal risk for a toddler. Always review safety information printed on toys and be sure to buy toys intended for the age range of the gift recipient.

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When most people think of school sports injuries, they imagine the injuries that could affect the highs school quarterback. According to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, however, cheerleaders have an even higher risk of serious injuries, including head injuries such as concussions. According to the study, cheerleaders are at a greater risk of permanent injury or serious injury that results in long-term care or a shorter life expectancy.

Why are so many cheerleaders at risk of sports injury in Homestead and other cities? According to some experts, part of the reason is because cheerleading is very competitive and some students try to progress too quickly – before they have a strong technical foundation for more elaborate and risky moves. Cheerleaders also take part in risky maneuvers – such as climbing to heights or being thrown in the air. These types of activities can lead to head injuries in Homestead and other communities.

Some schools have started to pass rules intended to limit these types of injuries in children and minors. In Homestead and other communities, some schools have passed ruled which prevents cheerleaders from tumbling on the ground or being thrown to considerable heights. Other schools have hired more experienced coaches or have created a system for teaching cheerleading gradually. Others have rules which require more people to assist when new routines are taught.

However, according to the latest study, more needs to be done. According to the research published in the Journal of Pediatrics, 66% of student sports-related concussions come from cheerleading. Moreover, over 33% of cheerleaders who suffer a concussion do not report the injury – often because they are not aware of symptoms.

Parents can reduce the risk of injury in this sport by hiring good coaches or trainers to teach proper technique. According to some experts, starting cheerleading training at age ten or younger ensures that an athlete has the basic foundation for the more competitive routines by high school age. In cases where a fall occurs on the field or in practice, it is important for the athlete to be checked over by a doctor. If a soft tissue injury or head injury has occurred, it is important to get a medical evaluation and treatment. The student should not return to sports or other at-risk activities until a doctor has given clearance to return; returning to sports too soon after a brain injury increases the risk of a serious secondary injury. Practicing on foam floors or soft surfaces can also help reduce the risk of injury.

Nevertheless, even with precautions, cheerleaders still risk head injury, muscle tears, fractures, and other injuries as a result of the sport. Parents can help by ensuring that cheerleading coaches at school or after-school programs are not only experienced cheerleaders but have also passed safety training specifically to be a coach. Parents can further teach their children the warning signs of concussion so that athletes can recognize and report any problems.

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Holidays are meant to be a fun time, but child injury in Homestead occurs during Thanksgiving and other major holidays, leading to devastated and grieving families. To prevent this from happening to you, make sure that you:

1) Provide lots of supervision for children who will be attending your holiday events. If several children will be affected attending a holiday party in your home, consider organizing groups of adults to supervise the children in shifts. This will help ensure that each child can enjoy the party while also keeping children carefully supervised. Proper supervision can help prevent a majority of accidents.

2) Keep a close eye on food that is being prepared. Sharp knives and hot ovens chose can pose a serious burn injury risk for Homestead children. Children can also easily get food poisoning if they eat something that has not been correctly prepared yet. Children should be kept out of the kitchen and away from other food preparation areas where possible.

3) Try to avoid decorating with candles. Candlelight may provide a wonderful atmosphere for your holiday table, but it can also be quite dangerous if you have small children nearby. If there are candles on a tablecloth, for example, children can pull at the tablecloth and knock the candles over. Children can also sustain a burn injury in your Homestead home if they touch a candle or knock it over. Look for battery operated lights instead or use a dimmer switch to create a beautiful festive atmosphere.

4) Lock up pool areas, stairs, and other dangerous areas with gates or other childproof devices. Stairs can pose a hazard for small children and pool areas can lure children as well. Keep these areas safe if they cannot be supervised closely.

5) Lock away any hazardous materials or substances that could harm a child. Keep in mind that even cleaning products can be dangerous for a small child. They should be stored well out of reach of small children or should be kept under lock and key.

6) Keep the area of your celebrations small. If children are allowed to wander all over your property and into every room of the home, they are more likely to encounter dangers and more likely to slip away from the watchful eyes of adults. Consider opening just a few rooms – a living room and dining room, for example – to guests. This keeps everyone together and ensures that no child wanders off.

7) Be careful about parking arrangements. If everyone is arriving by car, create a space for the cars and ensure that children do not play nearby. Unfortunately, back over accidents in Homestead can easily happen if children are playing near cars.

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