If you’re like most parents, then you probably spend a lot of time in your car transporting your child to school, extracurricular activities, medical visits and other places. You may feel fairly confident in your driving skills, but realize there’s little you can do to ensure that others operate their vehicles safely.
No one wants to have an accident, but the prospect of you or your child suffering injuries in one is even worse. Further, young children who are injured may not be able to articulate how they’re feeling when they suffer common crash-related injuries that affect kids.
Child placement in a vehicle when a crash occurs matters
The New York Department of Motor Vehicles website provides recommendations for where to seat children in vehicles. Typically, children are safest when seated in the rear seat of a vehicle. Independent data also indicates that a child’s placement in rear seats is best. Children have twice the risk of suffering injuries in a crash while riding in a front seat as opposed to a rear one in a collision.
Injuries your child suffers in a crash can depend on their age
The injuries that kids are likely to suffer in accidents can depend in part on their age. For example, infants less than a year old are most likely to suffer concussions in motor vehicle accidents, while children older than a year are most vulnerable to suffer head fractures, cuts and bruises in crashes.
Many parents make the mistake of assuming that their child is fine if they’re not crying, complaining of feeling unwell or showing any physical signs of injuries after a crash. Head trauma and internal injuries can leave behind lasting problems. It’s essential to consider both short-term and long-term medical needs when you’re holding a negligent driver accountable for a crash.