http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/shopping_cart_injury Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:19:50 -0800 pixel-app en http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12053 Wed, 09 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12053     
But it may happen more often than you think. The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates in a new report that 20,700 children younger than 5 years old were treated in U.S. emergency rooms last year after "shopping cart-related injuries."
    
Head and neck injuries are the most common, the group said. One out of 25 children injured in shopping cart mishaps is hospitalized, and some have died, the group said.
    
A falling kid is most likely to land on his or her noggin because children have large heads in proportion to the rest of their bodies, said Dr. Mary Christine Bailey, director of the pediatric emergency department at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
    
"Gravity makes it so the most probable place they're going to land is headfirst," Bailey said.
    
Seat belts are installed on many shopping carts to prevent falls. I think it helps a lot, especially if you turn your back and they move a little bit," said Laurie, a Framingham woman who went shopping with her 1-year-old niece, Taylor, yesterday at Super Stop & Shop on Temple Street in Framingham. Laurie, a mother of two, said shopping cart "buggies" that have seats and buckles for two children are also helpful.

Falls account for more than half of shopping cart injuries, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Carts tipping over account for up to a quarter of the injuries.

Parents usually keep infants firmly strapped in, but 2-year-olds often roam the larger portion of the cart and find a way to hurt themselves, said Dr. June Hanly, director of pediatric emergency medicine at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham.

"They're standing in the cart and they're either going to try to jump out or crawl out," Hanly said.

Once children reach the age of 3, they're smarter and less likely to find their way from the cart to the floor, Hanly said.
    
Hanly and Bailey said they see shopping cart-related injuries less than once a month. An emergency doctor at Milford Regional Medical Center could not recall any such incidents in the past year, said Terri McDonald, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
    
"It doesn't sound like something that comes through our emergency department that often," McDonald said.
    
In rare cases, Bailey said children suffer skull fractures that increase the risk of brain injury. CT scans of the head are performed in those instances, but in the vast majority of cases there is no significant injury to the brain, she said.
    
The American Academy of Pediatrics said the United States should revise shopping cart standards to prevent tip-overs and include better child-restraint systems. Placing child seats closer to the ground could lessen severity of injuries from falls, the group said.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12047 Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/12047
According to a new study, an estimated 24,000 children were treated in hospitals for shopping cart-related injuries last year. While some are bumps are bruises, some of those injuries actually are fatal.

Dawn Tolan learned just how quickly an accident can happen when her daughter Ellie reached for something on a shelf, and immediately fell out of the cart. Ellie had to be rushed to the emergency room.

"She had a temperature of 102 and that's when they got a little scared and wanted to do a cat scan," Tolan said. Ellie was fine, but thousands of children suffer serious injuries.

"A fall to a very hard surface it only takes four feet or so, and that can result in a life-threatening injury," said Dr. Gary Smith of Columbus Children's Hospital.

Many children get injured when they reach for something or stand up in the cart when their parents aren't looking, which is why many shopping carts have safety belts to keep kids strapped in.

In a Canadian study, researchers found that preschoolers can be up and out of the seat in three seconds. ABC News' 20/20 investigation found that with even the slightest push a cart can come crashing to the ground.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that when they developed the standards for shopping carts they looked into the issue of stability and determined that the overwhelming injuries which occurred were not caused by stability issues, but from falling out or falling off the cart. They determined they wanted to focus their efforts on warning labels on the carts and the seat belt requirements.

Smith said many injuries can be prevented by using kid-friendly carts that keep children low to the ground and less at risk. He also found that when stores had greeters who remind parents how to secure their children in the carts safely, the number of parents who did so tripled.

"By making carts lower to the floor, by making sure these carts are stable, these injuries will virtually disappear," Smith said.
]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/shopping_cart_injury Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/shopping_cart_injury Shopping Cart Injury Parents on a daily basis put their children in shopping cart seats while shopping at the drugstore or grocery shopping without thinking there is any risk. An estimated 24,000 children were treated in hospitals for shopping cart-related injuries in 2005 that included bruises, bumps and fatalities. On August 7, 2006, many of the top pediatricians throughout the United States warned parents against putting children in shopping carts.

Falls accounted for an estimated 58% of children's shopping-cart-related injuries. Shopping carts tipped over themselves an additional 26% of cases, typically injuring children under 2 and often when an older sibling was climbing on or standing in the cart. Other children were hurt when they became trapped in a cart, fell while riding on the outside of a cart or were run over by a cart. The majority of shopping carts are approximately four feet off the ground.

Many shopping cart accidents that result in injuries or death occur when a child reaches for an item on a shelf, often when a parent is not paying attention. An additional Canadian study determined that preschoolers could be out of the shopping cart seat in three seconds. ABC News' 20/20 investigation found that with even the slightest push a cart could come crashing to the ground. Dr. Gary Smith of Columbus Children's Hospital said carts that keep children low to the ground and less at risk could prevent injuries. He also found that when stores had greeters who remind parents how to secure their children in the carts safely, the number of parents who did so tripled.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that when the agency established the standards for shopping carts they looked into the issue of stability and concluded that the overwhelming injuries that took place were not caused by stability issues, but from falling out or falling off the cart. As a result, the CPSC shifted their focus on warning labels on the carts and the seat belt requirements.

If your child fell out of a shopping cart and was seriously injured, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified products liabilty attorney.]]>