You may have never thought about it before, but baby stroller/carrier accidents happen all the time. In fact, 50 children visit hospital emergency rooms each day, on average, because of accidents involving strollers. This amounts to more than 17,000 children each year – a conservative estimate, given that many injuries are treated outside of emergency rooms. Many of these children end up suffering concussions or other types of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
Injury most often occurs when a young child falls from a stroller or tips over in a carrier, hitting their head and face. It is not uncommon for emergency room doctors to see children who fell because they were not strapped into their stroller, or who fell from a carrier that was placed on a bed.
According to data collected between 1990 and 2010 by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance system, approximately 361,000 children under the age of five suffered head injuries in stroller accidents that were serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER. The study found some alarming results when it came to the difference between TBI diagnosis 20 years ago and diagnosis today. Whereas only one in five stroller/baby carrier accidents were found to have resulted in a concussion or other brain injury in 1990, by 2010, 53 percent of children in carrier accidents and 42 percent of children in stroller accidents were found to have suffered similar injuries.
Preventing Injury in Stroller/Baby Carrier Accidents
Here’s how you can prevent injury to your child when using a stroller or baby carrier:
- Always buckle children into their stroller or carrier to keep them securely seated
- Ensure that the stroller you use is appropriate for your child’s weight and size
- Avoid hanging bags on the handles of a stroller, as this could cause a tipping hazard
- Regularly check for recalls of unsafe products
Thankfully, there are now federal mandatory safety standards in effect based on the results of this study. We hope that, together with the above safety tips, these types of accidents can be minimized in the future.
If you believe your child’s injury was caused by a faulty and/or recalled stroller or baby carrier, we encourage you to consult with a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer about your potential legal options. It is important that you don’t repair or alter the stroller until it can be inspected by your attorney’s forensic team.
