What Are Some Ways Children or Adults Can Be Hurt By Shopping Carts?

While shopping carts may be ubiquitous at the grocery store, they are often dangerous for children and parents alike. Unfortunately, it’s been a surprising fact of life that these cars cause issues for kids, with thousands of injuries each year. The Washington Post reports that the average number of injuries exceeds 24,000 each year. Below is an illustrative video of things people do with shopping carts that many of us have probably never thought about.

As you can see in the above video, these accidents are not always the fault of the cart. Some of those people were being reckless. But there are ways that kids are hurt that can be particularly gruesome. Kids have little digits, and are also low, below the line of sight of other shoppers with their carts, are a few things that come to mind.  Furthermore, the levels of injuries range depending on the circumstances.

Unfortunately, these numbers are likely small because they just count the numbers of children that visit the hospital as a result of such injuries. It does not include the names of children injured that convalesce at home.

The Statistics Are Not Complete?

These figures are also partial, depending on age. All of these kids cited in the statistics are for children under the age of 15. So this means that even more teenagers are injured each year and are not quantified.

The types of injury vary. But all of them highlight the potential hazard of the carts, especially if they are not adequately secured.

Many children face head injury. According to the stats, 78.1% of the damage includes the head, especially soft tissue injuries. There are also significant numbers of concussions caused by falls out of the children’s seats.

There are a series of potential damages that could be resulting from these carts including:

• Fingers trapped by moving metal
• Falling or slipping out of the child’s seat
• Issues with wheels, including running over fragile feet or hands

No matter what the point, it is essential not just to let it go. Such an ailment could lead to further medical problems down the line, especially for a growing body. Make sure your child has proper medical care and attention.

Contact an attorney if you need assistance in finding the proper care or a means to pay for it. Improper design or maintenance of these carts may have caused your little one preventable pain and suffering.