Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Bathtub Accidents Hurt Kids (Part A)
Bathtubs and unsupervised children don’t mix.
More than 43,000 children are hurt in bathtub accidents, or slips and falls, each year. Additionally, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, children under a year old most often drown in bathtubs, buckets or toilets.
One would think that more would be done to make bathtubs safer for children. However, the number of bathtub accidents has remained about the same for the past 18 years, according to Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Bathtub accident statistics from BabyCenter.com state:
- 120 kids a day are injured by slip and falls in bathtubs and showers
- Children ages 4 and younger accounted for 54.3% of the injuries
- 71.3% of the slips and falls happened in the bathtub
- 97.1% of these accidents happened at home
- Falls, slips, and trips account for 81% of all bathtub injuries
Bathtub accidental death statistics from the CPSC state:
- Children drowning in bathtubs account for almost two-thirds of the 459 reported drowning deaths in the home. (4-year period between 1996 and 1999)
- The majority of these bathtub deaths occur when the caregiver is not present with the victim.
- In at least 29 of the 292 bathtub drowning deaths reported to CPSC between 1996 and 1999, the victims were using bath seats.
- In 222 of these cases, according to the CPSC, there was no adult supervision.
When child injuries occur in a bathtub accident, the parents are understandably devastated and can experience a wide range of emotions about the accident.
If you child was injured in a bathtub accident in Massachusetts, you should consider consulting with a Massachusetts personal injury lawyer who specializes in child injury cases. It is important that the lawyer you choose has successfully handled child accident cases in Massachusetts and understands the intricacies of bathtub accidents and/or child drowning.
A Boston personal injury attorney can review your case and advise you of your options. When reviewing the bathtub injury, be prepared to answer questions about the design of the bathtub and safety features that were installed by the manufacturer. Additionally, be prepared to answer questions about adult supervision as well as whether or not a bath seat was used.
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