Traffic accidents are a really big danger for children, and they are incredibly scary for parents. These accidents can occur in various ways – when a child is riding inside a car, riding a bike, or even just walking near a road. When a driver is careless, children are often the ones who suffer the most severe injuries.
- What It Is: An injury to a child that happens because of a motor vehicle (like a car, truck, or motorcycle) accident. This includes situations where children are passengers in a vehicle, riding a bicycle, or walking near traffic as pedestrians. These are often very violent impacts, and children’s smaller bodies are simply not as strong as adults’ to withstand them.
- Causes: Most often, these accidents happen because a driver is negligent. This means they are not being careful enough on the road. This could be due to:
- Distracted driving: The driver was texting, talking on the phone, eating, or not paying attention to the road. Distracted driving is a huge problem, contributing to thousands of deaths and injuries each year.
- Speeding: Driving too fast for the road conditions, making it harder to stop or react in time to avoid a child.
- Drunk or Drugged Driving: Driving when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs, which severely affects their ability to drive safely.
- Not Seeing a Child: Children are smaller and can be harder to spot, especially if they are on a bike or walking near a busy street. Drivers have a special duty to exercise extra caution in areas where children may be present, such as schools, parks, and residential neighborhoods.
- Car Seat or Booster Seat Mistakes: Even when a child is inside a car, if their car seat or booster seat is not installed correctly, or if they are not buckled in properly, they can be badly hurt in a crash. For instance, 46% of car seats are used incorrectly, meaning they aren’t providing the full protection they should..
- Statistics: Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents (ages 1-19 years) in the U.S. This is a heartbreaking statistic, surpassing even firearm injuries.
- According to a recent study, in one year over 660 children aged 12 and under died in traffic crashes, and more than 100,000 were injured. These numbers include children riding in cars, on bikes, or walking near roads.
- For child pedestrians (children walking), thousands are injured or killed each year, often due to distracted or careless drivers. Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related death among children aged 5-9 years.
- Bicycle accidents involving vehicles also send over 100,000 children to the emergency room each year.
- Long-Term Impact: Child traffic accidents can lead to all sorts of very serious injuries. These include severe traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries (sometimes causing paralysis), multiple broken bones, internal organ damage, severe burns from car fires, and profound emotional trauma (like PTSD, anxiety, and fear of cars). These injuries often require extensive, lifelong medical care, rehabilitation, and specialized equipment and can lead to permanent disabilities that deeply impact a child’s education, social life, and future.
If your child was hurt in a car accident, a bike accident, or as a pedestrian, and another driver was at fault, you need our team who understands how to prove that fault and fight for your child’s complex needs. Please call our team at The Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We are here to help your family navigate this difficult road.
