According to a report presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, there has been a substantial increase in the number of kids suffering ATV related injuries. 
 
ATVs or All Terrain Vehicles are motorized vehicles that are meant for off highway use. They can weigh up to to 600 pounds and have low pressure tires.  The American Academy of Pediatrics warns against their use by children under the age of 16, but monitoring accidents and related injuries that occur in children is difficult because most of these accidents occur on private property or off the highway.
 
In 2005 alone more than 40,000 children were rushed to emergency rooms across the country as the result of being involved in an ATV related accident.  The number of deaths in the same year stood at 120. This marked a dramatic increase over a 10-year period. 
 
Injuries sustained cover the gamut from spinal injuries including spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries, head injuries including skull fractures and brain injuries, and lung injuries.  Over 70 per cent of the children who were involved in ATV related accidents reported injuries to the kidneys, spleens and liver. It’s not difficult to see where all this extensive damage comes from.  Most ATV accidents involve crashes, rollovers or ejections. Consider the fact that a typical small sized ATV will weigh up to 600 pounds and it’s easy to understand the potential for damage when children are allowed to drive these.
 
Even toddlers haven’t been spared from ATV related injuries. At least 2 two year olds were rushed to hopital over the past year, one of them suffering severe disability, when they fell off an ATV.  One fails to understand why there are ATVs that are meant for kids when the American Academy of Pedatrics has made it clear they are dangerous for children under 16.  Even if these are manufactured, it shouldn’t be difficult to introduce a device that ensures that children below a certain weight are not allowed to get on these dangerous vehicles. A sensor that detects when a 2-year-old is trying to start the ATV and then shuts itself off to avoid a potential disaster could help prevent more such disasters in the future.
 
Meanwhile, the list of children injured by ATV related accidents, some of them with permanent and lasting damage, is growing longer by the day. These injuries that can be prevented through some foresight by the manufacturers involved. 
 
If your child has been injured in an ATV accident, call the experienced California accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.