Kids play outside and get hurt; it’s part of growing up. Sometimes, however, there may be negligence involved. Statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control show that each year in the United States, hospital emergency rooms treat over 200,000 children with playground-related injuries. The most common playground injury is a fall. Follow these steps to help prevent your child from being injured. 1. Inspect playground equipment. Before your children start climbing, swinging, sliding, and hanging, make sure you give all playground equipment a quick safety check. 2. Keep your eyes open. Actively watch your child playing – you might be able to prevent something! 3. Watch out below! Take your children to a playground with shock-absorbing materials such as mulch, synthetic turf, rubber, wood chips, pea gravel, etc. A fall on these surfaces is far more cushioned than one on grass, dirt, concrete, or asphalt. 4. Check the mirror. Read the full article…

The Connecticut Department of Education released concussion statistics for the 2017-18 school year. Nearly 6,300 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to 12th graders were included in this data. A concussion is caused by a jolt, bump or blow to the head that causes the brain to twist or bounce around in the skull. This type of injury causes stretching, damage and chemical changes in brain cells. The Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation that was enacted July 1, 2014 with the following safety laws for child concussion injuries: Any league or intramural coach that observes a student athlete with concussion symptoms after witnessing a blow to the head shall immediately remove that student from play for proper evaluation. The student athlete must have written consent or approval from a qualified healthcare provider to return to play. The student cannot participate in full practice or games until written clearance is granted by a healthcare provider who is following his/her Read the full article…

Our roadways are crowded. Between cars, trucks, buses, bikes, motorcycles, pedestrians, just to name a few, roadways and sidewalks are a dangerous place. A new mode of transportation, electric scooters, has recently entered this rat race and it has come with some bumps and bruises. In a new report issued by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), nearly half of all injuries from e-scooters can be prevented. Forty eight percent of those hurt on e-scooters sustained head injuries (with 15% of those head injuries traumatic brain injuries). Other injured areas included arms, face, knees, and hands. Over a third had a broken bone. Factors to the accidents included: Inexperience Speeding If you or a loved one plans on riding an e-scooter this summer, make sure you take the proper safety precaution to enjoy your trip.