Motor vehicle crashes are very dangerous for children. The design of safety systems and restraints in most vehicles primarily focuses on adult drivers and passengers. Restraints and airbags alike can potentially injure children during a car crash.
Without the right restraints, kids can easily suffer severe injuries in crashes. In fact, about one in four accidental deaths of children are the result of motor vehicle collisions. For every tragic loss, there are multiple other crashes that lead to serious injuries for the occupants of the vehicles involved. Injuries to young children can be particularly concerning after a major wreck.
Children have different risks than adults
Kids and teenagers are still actively growing, which helps them heal in many cases. Children may heal more quickly from certain injuries than adults would and may have an easier time fighting off infections. However, kids also have risks for issues that don’t affect adults.
For example, a broken bone could cause damage to the growth plate of the bone. Injuries that impact the growth plate could lead to uneven development and may require intensive medical intervention and ongoing monitoring even after the bone heals.
Additionally, as the body continues to grow over the years, the scars received in childhood can become more pronounced and disfiguring. Facial injuries, in particular, may require the specialized services of a pediatric plastic surgeon to ensure that the child heals cleanly.
Head injuries can be particularly concerning for children who still have many years of schooling ahead of them, as a brain injury could affect their academic performance. There’s also the risk of trauma, which could affect social and emotional development.
Injuries suffered by children can also affect parents
The more serious your child’s injury is, the more likely it will have an impact on your family’s finances.
There are limits to how much coverage you can get just through motor vehicle liability insurance, which might mean your family will be left with major bills unless you look at other ways of getting compensation. You could also have secondary financial losses if one parent has to stay home to care for an injured child, thereby depriving the family of a stream of income.
Recognizing the unique concerns for parents after a car crash that involves their children can make it easier to respond to a crash appropriately.
