Riding mowers deadly danger for children
Contact: Jonathan Lowe, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo.
816-346-1346; [email protected]
Embargo: Sunday, May 14
Cutting through tissue and bone in seconds, the ride-on lawn mower may be the most dangerous household machine, a Children's Mercy study says.
Dr. Chris S. Kennedy, an emergency room physician at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., reached the conclusion in a study presented this weekend at the Pediatric Academic Societies/American Academy of Pediatrics joint convention in Boston.
"Ride-on mower injuries to young children are severe and often mutilating or deadly," Dr. Kennedy said. "All of the traumas could have been prevented by a combination of keeping young children off the mower, and in the house while mowing."
The study, based on emergency room visits at Children's Mercy from 1991 to 1996, found that 75 percent of patients suffered an amputation of at least a digit and half had lower extremity amputations. Eleven children died as a result of their injuries. A relative such as a parent, grandparent, sibling or aunt inflicted all injuries.
Dr. Kennedy says the pain and suffering is compounded because a relative must endure a lifetime with the memory of inflicting a mutilating injury upon a child.
"An aggressive public awareness campaign to keep kids off and inside is needed," Dr. Kennedy said. "Videotapes of these injuries should be mandatory viewing before purchasing a mower."
Dr. Kennedy also recommends requiring sensing devices installed on mowers for use while backing up.
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