An accident is not something a driver can plan for. You can do your best to pay attention and follow every rule of the road, but you can’t take the wheel for a driver in another vehicle, not paying attention, heading straight for you.
If a collision is unavoidable, you might trust that your seatbelt and airbag will protect you. But what if your children are in the car? Those small ones you’ve nurtured for their entire lives are now put in harm’s way because of someone else’s carelessness.
Children At Risk in a Vehicle Accident
In the most recent US accident numbers from the CDC, 675 children 12 years old and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes in a single year. Almost 116,000 more children were left with injuries in that same year.
What’s even scarier, of the children who died in those crashes (for which restraint use was known), 65% were actually restrained or buckled up the right way.
The takeaway is that even a child seat or seat belt is far from a guarantee your son or daughter will escape serious injury.
Common Car Accident Injuries for Children
Medical Experts have learned that an infant and a toddler can be vulnerable in an accident in very different ways than a child that’s even just a few years older. Infants (under the age of one) are at more risk for concussion. Toddlers (one to three years old) are more likely to be left with cuts and head fractures.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, the most common injuries to children during an accident are:
- Head Injuries/Concussions – The most common injury for children and the most dangerous due to a child’s developing brain at this stage.
- Chest Injuries or Thoracic Injuries – These injuries cover damage to the heart and lungs, ribs, and breathing passageways.
- Abdominal injuries- Small-bowel injuries and large-bowel injuries were more common among children 4 to 7 years old accounting for 30 percent of their abdominal injuries
- Pelvic fractures – Higher risk among infants.
- Psychological Injuries- Lasting Trauma trying to cope with what happened.
Rollover accidents are particularly dangerous for children of all ages. Children are much more likely to suffer an incapacitating injury during a rollover than any other kind of auto accident.
Seek Treatment For Your Children Immediately
Even as adults, we can sometimes downplay injuries in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Shock and adrenaline might also prevent us from noticing injuries that we might in normal circumstances.
Your child will have the same trouble pointing out injuries they may have suffered. A child also may not be able to communicate that information to you properly. Get professional medical treatment on the scene and follow up with your doctor. Internal bleeding can be impossible for a parent to spot but can be deadly if it goes unnoticed.
These careful medical evaluations will hopefully spot all of the injuries your child needs treated. The documentation will also make clear what the driver who caused the accident needs to be held responsible for. The driver’s insurance needs to cover today’s medical bills and cover any treatment necessary in the future.
Contact a Philadelphia Children’s Injury Lawyer
Injuries to children are one of the most painful experiences that your family can endure. Sometimes called Philadelphia’s Children’s Attorney, Edith Pearce is experienced in representing the interest of children and their families who are seeking justice for their child.
Edith has extensive experience representing children and seeking justice on their behalf. With Edith, you can come and talk, ask questions, and then decide what’s best for you without worrying about making a commitment or paying a consultation fee. She knows that where children and family are concerned, the parents want only what’s best for their child and their family, and she will work hard to do just that.
If your son or daughter was injured, contact The Pearce Law Firm, P.C. at (215) 557-8686 for a free consultation and case evaluation.
