Parents use baby gates to prevent their infants and children from getting injured; however, a new study shows that most baby gates are doing more harm than good.
The number of children treated in emergency rooms for injuries caused by baby gates has nearly quadrupled since 1990, leading experts to warn families about the dangers of using these harmful child products.
According to the study conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, from 1990 to 2010, 37,673 children younger than seven years old were taken to emergency rooms for sustaining baby gate-related injuries. This is an average of five injured children per day.
Researchers found that over 60 percent of the injured children were younger than two years old, and were most often injured by falling down the stairs after the baby gate collapsed. Child injuries caused by baby gates included:
- Sprains
- Soft tissue injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Cuts and lacerations
- Bumps and bruising
The lead author of the study, Lara McKenzie, Ph.D., stated that over 16 percent of children sustained traumatic brain injuries in baby gate-related accidents.
McKenzie stated that significant advancements in gate product design need to be taken to prevent these injuries to children, and noted that voluntary standards by the American Society for Testing and Materials have been effective in decreasing gate-related injuries to babies and children.
“Our study results highlight the need for further advances in gate design to limit children’s ability to climb gates, to prevent gates from collapsing and to better cushion children when they fall on gates,” McKenzie stated.
Currently, there are no federally-mandated regulations for gate design in the US.
My Child Was Injured by a Baby Gate. What Should I Do?
As injury attorney Mike Eidson explains in the video below, our attorneys know what to do when our clients are injured by defective products:
Colson Hicks Eidson– Injury Attorneys
Source: http://www.healthline.com/health-news/baby-gates-injuries-emergency-room-050514