Boston Child Brain Injury Blog

Almost half a million (about 473,947) of all the emergency department visits for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) are made by children under 14 every year. Of the injured children, the TBI rates are always higher for boys than for girls. In fact, in all age groups, traumatic brain injuries were more present in males than in females, but especially for male children aged 0 to 4 years, who have the highest rates of TBI-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths every year.

According to 2005-2006 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of TBI among children under 14 years old.

Motor vehicle accidents, as well as struck by/against events, which include colliding with a moving or a stationary object, are other leading causes of TBI among children.

Besides causing serious head and brain injury in children which can have profound effects on their health and lives, these events can even lead to death. CDC statistics show that TBI is a contributing factor to a third of all injury-related deaths in the United States.

To get a better idea of what can cause a TBI in children, please take a look at the visual representation pie chart below, found on the CDC website.

If your child has suffered a traumatic brain injury in a Massachusetts accident or due to the negligence of another, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills and ongoing medical treatments. For more information on child injuries, order a FREE copy of attorney Thomas M. Kiley’s book of child injury.

The Boston child brain injury lawyers at Kiley Law Group serve clients in the greater Boston area and will advocate for fair compensation for your child’s injuries. For a FREE Case Evaluation, contact us today at the toll-free number 1-800-930-8145.

A 2-year-old boy fell from a window in Saugus, Massachusetts yesterday afternoon.  

Firefighters responded to 74 Lincoln Avenue after receiving a call from the boy’s mother, stating that her son fell out of a window on the second floor of the home.

The toddler fell on a grassy area below the window and when firefighters responded they found him on his back, with his mother at his side.  He was stabilized, with the help of a backboard to support his neck and spine.  

Even though the boy was “conscious and alert” and showed no signs of physical injuries, he was transported to a Boston area hospital as a precaution to check on whether or not he had sustained any internal injuries. 

There is no update on the boy’s condition and no information on just how he fell from the window.

In a post from earlier today, we highlighted the importance of window guards to keep your kids from falling out of windows in your home. 

We may tend to think of these tragic situations as, “This can’t happen to me…” but they can and do happen to people each day.  While we don’t know the current status of the toddler in the above story, a fall from a second floor is significant no matter what. 

Look over these great tips on window safety by the Home Safety Council, and then review your windows in your home or apartment to be 100% certain that your windows will prevent falls.

An article out this week focused on a Marlborough, Massachusetts company that designs and manufactures window bars with the sole purpose of preventing kids from falling out of windows.

Looking Glass Window Guards is this admirable company and its founder, Remi Doiron, launched his new idea at the start of this year. 

According to the article, Doiron grew more and more disheartened by news stories where kids were falling out of windows and getting seriously injured or even killed.  Because of these tragic events he would hear about, Doiron began researching window guards and how to make such a product the most reliable barrier between the inside and the outside. 

The result of Doiron’s research is a window guard that has four bars of steel and is specifically designed to keep little kids from bypassing the guard to reach the screen.  One of the safety features is that the guard can be opened in the event of an emergency, but the lever is located beyond reach of small children and, therefore, inaccessible to them.  The window guards are designed to fit a wide variety of windows, even those built custom.  Looking Glass Window Guards also come in a range of standard and custom colors.  For additional information on this product, click here.

We may only think of the dangers that windows pose when we read a story in the newspaper or hear about it on the 5:00 news, but Children’s Hospital in Boston highlights how often kids fall from windows.  Just under 20 kids each year, aged 10 and younger, will die from falling out of windows and 4,700 kids aged 14 and younger will need medical treatment for injuries related to falling out windows. 

These types of incidents can oftentimes be preventable, so let’s try and bring the numbers down by reviewing the National Safety Council’s window safety tips.

We still open our windows during these cooler September days, so please make sure the windows in your home let the crisp air in while keeping your kids in, too.

Over this past weekend, a toddler fell off a porch that was two stories up at a home in Lynn, Massachusetts.  The boy, just under two years old, is currently at a hospital in Boston with serious, life-threatening injuries. 

Lynn Police responded to the scene on Sunday afternoon and found the toddler, whose name was not released publicly, in the driveway after having fallen about 15 feet.  The boy was stabilized on the scene and readied for transport to an area hospital. 

There is a licensed day care at the address where the fall occurred, but the name of the facility is not known at this time.  It also has not been confirmed that the boy lived there.  An investigation is currently underway by Lynn Police as well as the Massachusetts State Police. 

It isn’t clear yet what the circumstances were and how the child ended up falling, but it raises concern over young children gaining access to either windows or landings where they could potentially fall.

To combat these concerns, here are some essential tips on keeping your kids safe from the danger of open windows. 

- Constant supervision of your child around windows is the key way to keep your son or daughter from accidentally falling out of them.

- Make sure the windows are locked when you don’t have them open and keep all stools, chairs, and anything else your child could climb on away from the walls where windows are.

- Window guards or bars are an excellent layer of protection between your child and the outside.  They typically are aluminum or steel and can tolerate about 150 pounds of pressure.

- Having a screen in the window frame should not take the place of window bars because screens will not prevent children from falling out of the window, no matter their age.

The warm weather isn’t going anywhere fast and this means windows will still be open to let fresh air in or to accomodate fans and air conditioners.  Take some time today to review the safety of your windows for the sake of your kids.

Less than a couple of weeks before the Lynn boy’s accident, a 20-month-old Derry girl suffered serious injury after falling down from a home window on July 26th.

Children, especially infants, are very vulnerable to injuries. Even minor injuries can greatly influence children’s physical and mental health. Protecting children from harm is an essential job for parents, as well as for people who take care of them while their parents are away, so please make sure your young child is properly supervised and keep our other safety tips regarding windows in mind.

A 20-month-old girl fell from a window at her home in Derry, NH, and suffered serious injuries from the 15 feet fall onto the pavement.

She was taken by ambulance to Parkland Medical Center and airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for treatment, news reports said.

The accident, which happened at the girl’s two-story home on 24 Village Brook Lane, occurred on Monday evening around 6:30 pm. Reportedly, the toddler fell from a one-story window above the garage and landed in the driveway, police officials said. It was unclear if the child fell out of an open window or if she broke through a screen.

According to town assessment records the Derry home is owned by Fabrizio and Rachel Basso.

There were no other details on the accident since Derry police said there was no evidence that a crime had occurred.

Two days later, another small child fell 20-feet out of a two-story window in Dayton, Ohio, and was critically injured. The 2-year-old boy was found laying face down on the concrete when they arrived.

According to the police, the boy’s parents were at home when the child fell, but they were not paying attention to him.

Since summer temperatures are the main reason why people leave their windows open, securing a screen to the window is one of the most effective ways to prevent small children from going through them and falling. Another way to secure windows is to install window guards.

However, the most effective safety tip for window fall prevention is for parents to keep close to their children and supervise them when they are near windows. 

To find more ways on how to protect your child from falling from a window, please click here.

News Sources: Boston Herald, Eagle Tribune, WDTN.