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Lewis & Tompkins, P.C. | Maryland | Virginia | Washington, D.C.

Free Consultations
202-296-0666

PLEASE NOTE: To protect your safety in response to the threats of COVID-19, we are offering our clients the ability to meet with us in person, via telephone or through video conferencing. Please call our office to discuss your options.

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    5.  » Skull Fractures And Broken Bones: Children’s Bike-Riding Risks

Skull Fractures And Broken Bones: Children’s Bike-Riding Risks

After ten hours of grueling work, you were definitely excited to get home. The only things you wanted to do were kiss your wife and children, and watch some TV while eating your dinner. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. When you ceremoniously opened your front door to scream that you were home, you instantly knew something was wrong.

Your teenage daughter was sitting on the stairs with her phone in her hand, shaking. She looked up at you and you could tell she had been crying. She ran to you and told you that she and your wife had been trying to call you for over an hour. You tried to calm her down, since by then she had started crying again, to find out what happened.

After sitting her down and getting her some water, she told you that your 7-year-old son had been thrown from his bike when a car accidentally hit him. By the time your wife and daughter got to the scene, he was covered in blood and unconscious. An ambulance came and took him and your wife to MedStar, and your daughter was left to wait for you.

Without knowing any more details than that, or how seriously your boy was injured, you grabbed your daughter and rushed to the hospital.

Is Your Child Safe? Common Catastrophic Injuries of Childhood Bike Riding

Riding a bike is an essential part of growing up. Even if they never master it, 90% of children at least attempt to learn. Unfortunately, falling off of a bike seems to be an essential part of childhood as well. According to the Center for Disease Control, 60% of all bike-related injuries seen in U.S. emergency rooms are sustained by children 14 years old or younger. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration estimates that 60 children are killed and over 9,000 are injured in bicycle-related accidents each year.

Some of these nonfatal injuries are minor and can be taken care of with a simple bandage, but others can be absolutely catastrophic. These include:

  • Severe road rash, abrasions, and lacerations. Deep cuts and abrasions can easily become infected and cause necrosis (tissue and cell damage), as well as a dangerous amount of blood loss.
  • Sprains, strains, muscle and tissue tears. Sprains can be extremely painful and take a long time to heal. Muscle and tissue tears have the potential to heal improperly and cause future periodic pain and immobility.
  • Fractures and broken bones. Again, healing can be a long and painful ordeal. Some fractured bones, especially the collar bone, ribs, and shoulders, can potentially puncture internal organs.
  • Skull fractures and brain trauma. Between 22 and 47% of all serious bike-riding accidents result in some sort of head trauma. Due to the nature of impact falls, when a child is thrown from his bike and lands on the ground, his neck snaps back, causing his head to forcefully smack the ground as well. This smack could potentially cause his skull to crack, or his brain to become jostled within the skull, leading to bruising, swelling, and bleeding.
  • Spinal cord injuries. Damage to the spinal cord is also common in bike accidents. A fall or impact could cause the child to land forcefully on his back, leading to ruptured discs, spinal bruising, or even severing of the spinal cord.

Picking Your Child Up After An Accident

Bike riding is supposed to be a fun and liberating experience for your child. It allows him the freedom to get from place to place while also giving him the exercise he needs to burn excess energy. However, faulty equipment, negligent drivers and childhood distractions can cause a fun bike ride to become a painful, catastrophic tragedy.

As a parent, you want to always protect your children from harm, but when an accident occurs that you can’t stop, what do you do? If your child was seriously injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, contact us! We’ll not only help you get the answers and justice you need, but we’ll be there to support you and your child throughout the claim process. When you’re our client, you’re our family, so let us help you pick your child up and get the injury compensation he deserves. Call now for your free consultation!

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