The Personal Injury Risks Lurking in Your Backyard

CANTON, Texas. When we think of serious personal injury risks in our everyday lives, we often think about car accident risks, bike crashes, and pedestrian injuries. Yet, your own backyard might be posing its own unique personal injury risks. According to the New York Times, over 51,000 people were injured while mowing the lawn between 2006 and 2013. These injuries could be quite severe. Over 12,000 of these accidents resulted in amputations.

Most of the serious accidents involved injuries to the hands and feet. The average emergency room visit for lawn mower injuries cost $2,482 per patient, according to the Times, with the average hospital stay costing $36,987. Alarmingly, children were most at risk of suffering foot injuries and amputations. Many of these injuries occurred after a child fell off a seated lawn mower or after a child ran toward a parent pushing a lawn mower.

The lawn mower industry is paying attention. According to the New York Times, engineers are working to create smarter lawn mowers that can shut off when they encounter a person’s foot, hand, or body.

According to CBS News, every year an estimated 80,000 people end up in the hospital due to lawn mower injuries. According to one pediatric surgeon, lawn mower injuries are the leading cause of pediatric amputations.

So, what can you do to keep yourself and your family safe? For one, don’t allow children to play on the lawn when someone is cutting the lawn. Secondly, don’t let children ride on lawn mowers with dad or grandpa. Finally, when hiring lawn care services, seek out the services of experienced lawn care experts who know how to operate this equipment. While you might want to save a few dollars by hiring your neighbor’s teenage son, doing so could put you at risk of serious liability if an accident occurs.

In fact, according to CBS News, most injuries involving lawn mowers involve teenagers. If something gets stuck in the lawn mower, the teen may not know how to fix the situation. There have been cases where teens stuck their hands too close to the blades and were injured. If you do plan to have your teen mow the lawn, make sure to review proper safety with him or her.

What else can you do to stay safe? Wear safety googles, thick-soled shoes, and long pants when mowing the lawn. Clean the yard of any debris before you start mowing. Branches and stones can become projectiles when they encounter your mower’s blades. Never try to lift or clean the mower while it is running, and use gloves when changing the mower’s blades. Finally, keep children and animals away from the lawn when someone is mowing it.

Is your family trained in lawn mowing safety? Do you have the proper safety equipment? The Cooper Law Firm are Canton, Texas personal injury lawyers who work with clients who have been hurt due to the negligence of another person or party.  Protect yourself while mowing your lawn. And if a loved one or child was hurt due to the neglect or negligence of another person or party, reach out to our firm at https://www.cooper-law-firm.com/ to learn more.

Cooper Law Firm
501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone: (903) 297-0037