New CDC Report Indicates Child Injury Deaths are Down

presented by: Gary Massey
According to a news report in The Christian Science Monitor, a new child safety report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals a decrease in child injury fatalities. From 2000 to 2009, child injury-related deaths have dropped 30 percent, which is excellent news; however, more than 9,000 children are still dying each year from unintentional injuries. The CDC reports that injury is still the leading cause of death among children, including injuries related to car accidents, drowning, suffocation, fires, falls, and poisoning.
Medical experts and researchers do state that the findings indicate that the lives of more than 11,000 children have been saved, but newer trends should be considered as far as what is costing younger people their lives. One alarming fact is that poisoning accidents have increased over the past decade, which researches say is driven by a 91 percent increase among teens. Prescription drug overdose is the most common form of poisoning in this age group. In addition, suffocation death rates among infants have increased by 54 percent. Though auto accident-related child deaths have significantly decreased, specifically by 41 percent, they still account for half of all child injury deaths.
A medical epidemiologist with the CDC states families and child caretakers should do two things in order to keep children safe. First, a safe environment for children should be created to reduce a child’s injury risk. This can be done by taking several precautions, including installing fences with self latching gates around swimming pools and selecting play areas with soft landing surfaces. Second, parents and caregivers should make the effort to increase their knowledge and make safer choices for their children.
Every person in a child’s life has the power to prevent a child injury or death, but another person’s negligence may unfortunately cause your child undue harm. If your child has suffered an injury in an accident that was caused by another party, contact an experienced child injury lawyer in Chattanooga. At Massey & Associates, our legal team will ensure any at-fault parties are held responsible for your child’s accident. We offer a free consultation, so please call our offices at (423) 697-4529 to schedule an appointment.