According to The Oregonian a shocking number of Portland-area children have been injured in falls from windows since the beginning of the summer. The newspaper recently reported that there have been eight such accidents in recent weeks, the latest one involving a toddler who fell “from the second-floor window of his family’s Southeast Portland home.”
The paper, quoting Portland fire officials, says the injured Oregon child suffered “a skull fracture and broken teeth.” Thankfully, the child is reported to have suffered no Oregon traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident. Such injuries are a particular concern when children fall from windows, as I noted in an earlier post.
In a related article the newspaper reports that there are roughly 4000 such injuries to children nationwide each year, with Oregon averaging “40 to 50.”
These injuries are particularly tragic because they are so easy to prevent. As The Oregonian, citing window safety experts, notes, simple solutions like stops which prevent a window from opening more than four inches are cheap, easy to install and can dramatically cut the number of Oregon children injured each year in accidents like this one.
Tragedies like this are also a reminder of the important role our courts, and Portland child injury attorneys, play in ensuring that people and companies take appropriate precautions to protect kids when they are near windows and in danger of falling. It is, of course, far preferable that accidents never happen, but also reassuring to know that our legal system provides opportunities for victims to seek justice when that becomes necessary.
The Oregonian: Southeast Portland boy recovering from injury after falling out of window
The Oregonian: Simple hardware, common sense can prevent children from falling out of windows