Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Childhood Injuries are More Costly Than Prevention
Studies show that childhood injuries cost the US and make it a leading childhood health problem. According to the JSTOR, a scholarly digital archive, these costs to the US are a problem and responsibility of the government, because Medicaid and other government sources pay for approximately 39% of the costs of children being treated in hospitals. The article argues that it is in the children’s best interests, as well as the government’s best interests, to prevent these unintentional injuries from happening.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has produced a report on children’s unintentional injuries to coincide with the World Report on Child Injury Prevention that was released in 2008. These reports document the patterns of childhood unintentional injuries in the US from drowning, falls, fires, transportation, poisoning, and suffocation.
Injury Prevention
Injury prevention is the best way to reduce the cost of unintentional children’s injuries by creating safer products and environments. By focusing attention on injury prevention at the same time that children’s advocates are promoting physical activity as a way to prevent obesity, children will have a much brighter future.
The CDC published this report to begin a public discussion of the public health advantages to the US by preventing injuries to children. Children’s unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children under 19 years old. Most of these deaths occur from motor vehicle traffic accidents, falls, burns, drownings, and poisonings.
The economic impact of childhood injuries is estimated at $14 billion in lifetime medical spending, $1 billion in costs of caring for injured children, and $66 billion in present and future work losses.
An Injury Prevention Framework
According to the CDC, William Haddon Jr, one of the founders of injury epidemiology, developed Haddon's 10 Basic Strategies for Injury Prevention. These strategies provide public health professionals with a framework to identify risk factors or devise preventive strategies
These can include:
- Traffic-calming devices to reduce the speed of vehicles.
- Walkways and pedestrian overpasses to separate cars from pedestrians and bicycles.
- Helmets required and children and parents educated about their use and fit.
Kiley Law Group, located in Boston and Andover, Massachusetts takes time when speaking with you about your case and works with you on a contingent basis so there are NO FEES unless our trained Boston personal injury lawyers wins your case. Call now for a FREE evaluation of your case – 1-888-208-1695.
