Every year more than 5000 children are treated in U.S. hospitals for serious injuries including brain and spinal cord injuries and in some cases death all related to falls from an open windows according to a new study out this week in the journal Pediatrics.
In recent decades, the subject of children who fall from windows has received increasing attention, leading to the development of prevention programs.
Initial studies were performed with large urban populations, primarily in cities such as New York and Chicago, the idea being that children living in high-density, multifamily, housing structures and high-rise buildings were at greater risk of serious injury resulting from window falls.
More recent studies have shown that these injuries are not isolated to the big city highrises but occur throughout the nation in all types of homes.
During the period 1990-2008, an estimated 98 415 children were treated in US hospital emergency rooms for injuries attributable to a fall from a window, with an average of 5180 patients per year.
Boys accounted for 58.1% of the injury cases, which will not be a real surprise to any parents of boys. The average age of the children who fell was 5. Children 0 to 4 years of age accounted for 64.8% of the injuries. Three-year old children represented 14.4% of injuries.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) offers some suggestions on preventing these falls in your home.
Every year, thousands of young children are killed or injured in falls from windows. To help prevent these tragedies, take the following actions — especially for windows in bedrooms.
Safeguard your windows with window guards or window stops.
- Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows. (For windows on the 6th floor and below, install window guards that adults and older children can open easily in case of fire.)
- Install window stops so that windows open no more than 4 inches.
Never depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows.
Whenever possible, open windows from the top — not the bottom.
Keep furniture away from windows, to discourage children from climbing near windows.
If you or someone you know has been injured by a defective product, contact the personal injury lawyers at the Alexander Law Group, LLP for a free case evaluation or call 888.777.1776. All calls free and confidential.