Children are unfortunately at a higher risk to sustain serious injuries when they are in a car accident—whether they’re in the car or they come into contact with a vehicle that goes out of control. Motor vehicle crashes are causing the unintentional deaths of children, and it’s estimated that 60% of cases where a child sustains an injury in a car crash, they were restrained and in the appropriate seat for their age.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that whether your child is on the road, a passenger, a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there are risks to watch out for. Let’s learn a bit more about the most common injuries that a child may sustain after sustaining an injury from a car accident.
The Most Common Injuries Are…
Traumatic Brain Injuries: Injuries to the brain occur frequently in children who are in a car accident. Kids below twelve months are likely to suffer concussions and unconsciousness, but those in the older age groups—ranging from one year to seven years old, are most likely to suffer skull base fractures. Brain injuries are devastating, especially when you’re a child that’s still developing. It’s estimated that 70% of all infants and at least half of all toddlers receive brain injuries from motor vehicle accidents or MVAs.
Thoracic Injuries: These are just as serious as head injuries because a hit in the right spot on the chest can damage multiple organs such as the lungs and the heart. In children who were younger than one year of age, rib fractures were the most common injury sustained from motor vehicle accidents. This is thought to be because a child’s bones are still developing and are therefore soft. In the age group ranging from one to seven years, children who received chest injuries were likely to have contusions and lacerations to their lungs.
Spinal Injuries: These aren’t as common as chest and head injuries, but it is estimated that 16% of all children who are injured in motor vehicle accidents that are below the age of twelve months suffer vertebral fractures, herniated discs or spinal and nerve damage. In the age group of one to seven years, spinal trauma is less common.
Abdominal Injuries: The abdomen hosts a variety of organs—major ones at that—the kidneys, the liver, the digestive system, reproduction system and more. Because of how many vital organs are hosted there, injuries to this part of the body is extremely tragic. In fact, trauma to the small and large intestines is the second most common injury that children between the ages of four and seven experience, while infants and toddlers are more prone to liver and spleen damage.
Your child can also suffer injuries to their lower extremities, their face, and of course they’ll suffer mental trauma from any accident they’re in. If your child suffers injuries and trauma from a car accident, reach out to a distracted driver lawyer in Milwaukee, WI such as the ones available at Hickey and Turim.