Recently, a study in the journal Pediatrics found that approximately 20,000 children are taken to emergency rooms each year for sledding accidents. Many sustain injuries involving blunt force trauma to the head. But Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI, is seeking to prevent such injuries this winter by offering helmets to kids brought to its emergency room for snow-related injuries.
According to hospital officials, teaming up with Hasbro’s Injury Prevention Center made the program possible. The initiative was prompted, in part, by a rash of child head injuries that occurred after December’s blizzard in RI. One child who was brought to Hasbro’s emergency room suffered a severe head injury.
We applaud Hasbro Children’s Hospital for taking this important step to prevent child head and brain injuries. This winter, make sure that you too take every precaution that you can to prevent your child from coming to harm. The season is often a time for outdoor, snow-related sports, but these can be just as dangerous as any others if inappropriate equipment is used.
Make sure your children are wearing helmets and other protective gear as necessary when playing outside. Sprinkle salt or sand on icy sidewalks and steps, so that anyone coming in and out of your home does not fall and injure themselves.
If you need to discuss a brain, head, or slip and fall injury, contact a qualified attorney as soon as possible. Everyone has a responsibility during winter to make sure that their property is safe to traverse. If they have not done so, and you are injured, you may be eligible for compensation.
IW