Most parents know that children are particularly injury prone. As a result, anything that children regularly come into contact with should be extra secure. A recent article in Newsday talks about a threat to children that many parents might not even aware of – shopping carts. The is paper reports in its online addition that every day about 66 children are treated for shopping cart related injuries in the U.S. This was found in a recent study conducted by The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Center for Injury Research and Policy. This study looked at emergency room statistics from 1990 to 2011 and found that annually about 24,000 children reported to the emergency room with an injury that was sustained from a shopping cart. This averages about 66 children each day.

Though safety standards are for put in place for shopping cart safety, every year thousands of children are still injured suggesting that perhaps stronger safety precautions need to be taken. Furthermore, because of the ubiquity of these types of accidents, stores should make servicing their shopping carts a priority. If your child has been hurt in an accident involving a shopping cart, contact an  injury attorney to find out more about your right to compensation.

Shopping Cart Injury Statistics

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) states in their report: Shopping Cart Injuries to Children Younger than Five Years Old, 2008 To 2012 that, during this period, the average number of children under the age of 5 to report to the emergency room each year for shopping cart injuries was 21,600. Though the number of fatalities resulting from these accidents is low, many of the victims suffer trauma to the head and face; both of which can lead to long term damage and steep medical bills.

The CPSC found that there several ways that shopping cart accidents can occur in children aged 5 and younger.  They categorized each type of accident into one of 6 categories. They are as follows:

Falls: This is typically described as the child falling from the cart whether they were standing, climbing or sitting in the cart. Sometimes, this can involve a car seat that was placed in the shopping cart causing the cart to fall over and, occasionally, the child to fall out of the seat. Falls also occur in situations where the carts wheels are designed to lock, preventing carts from leaving the store.

Tip Overs: These accidents result when the shopping cart tips over while the child is inside it. Occasionally this type of accident can also lead to the child falling out of the cart.

Collisions: These accidents transpire when a shopping cart collides with another cart or object with the child inside. It also includes incidents where the cart strikes or rolls over a child.

Contact: This category describes accidents that result from a shopping cart bumping into a child or vice versa.

Entrapment: When a child is injured by getting their fingers or limbs trapped in part of the cart, it is referred to as entrapment. Commonly these types of injuries involve the spokes of the wheels of the cart.

Incidental: This category involves any other type of injury sustained in or near a shopping cart though it may not have been directly related to the cart itself.

CPCS data shows that in 84% of the cases involving children 5 and under, falls were the cause of the accident. Newsday reports that about 70% of all shopping cart related injuries occur due to falls from the cart. Tip overs and collisions are tied for a distant second with 4% each. Sadly, injuries sustained from falls most commonly injured the child's face or head.

The CPCS reports that about 85% of shopping cart injuries result in head or face injury. The second-highest is arm or hand injury at 7% followed by a leg or foot injury at 4%. Furthermore, data shows that 44% of accidents resulted in internal organ injury, 28% resulted in contusions or abrasions and 5% of accidents resulted in concussions.

Retail Accidents in New Hampshire

Many injuries sustained from shopping cart accidents have serious and long term effects. This can mean high medical bills, pain and suffering and more. Stores and businesses have a duty to keep their patrons relatively safe. When an accident occurs due to a neglected hazard, the victims and their families may be eligible to receive compensation for their injuries. For more information about retail injuries in New Hampshire, contact Russman Law.