It’s almost that time of year again: summer. While summer is a time that children enjoy most, it is also a time that parents and guardians should exercise extra caution. According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC), summer is the most hazardous season for children, with “nearly half of all injury-related childhood deaths” occurring between May through August.
During the summer, the risk for child injury increases greatly, as children are out of school and often playing outside unsupervised. Seemingly safe activities—swimming, riding a bike, walking to a friend’s house—can all result in unintentional injury, the leading cause of death for children 14 and under, according to NSKC.
According to national statistics, “Two-thirds of all childhood drownings happen May through August” and “half of all [bicycling] deaths occur during that same time period.” The article further reports that “about 40% of pedestrian deaths and 40% of motor vehicle deaths occur from May through August.”
This summer will, unfortunately, be no different. The NSKC estimates that “children will be rushed to emergency departments nearly 3 million times for serious injury.”
Our firm believes these statistics are far too high. While we can’t eliminate childhood injury, we can certainly take some steps to help prevent it from occurring. We encourage all parents and guardians to put simple safety precautions into effect. For example, children should always wear the proper safety gear while riding bikes. Likewise, children should always be supervised while swimming. These are just a few of many things parents can do to help protect their children.
When almost anything can cause a childhood accident—toys, outdoor activities, household appliances and much more—it is very important for parents and guardians to understand their legal options should a child injury occur. Too often, a child’s injury is due to the carelessness of a company or another person. Our firm has written a report which explains the process for filing a claim for hurt minors living in North Carolina (N.C.) and Virginia. To learn about filing a claim on behalf of an injured minor/child, download our report, completely free of charge.
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