Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
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.
Would you like to speak to a personal injury attorney about your situation? Flaxman Law Group is a full service law firm with offices in Hollywood. Contact our compassionate legal staff today for a free accident consultation.