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CDC REVEALS TOP CAUSES OF CHILD DEATHS IN THE U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintains statistics related to deaths caused by injury and disease in the United States and release annual reports on the subject. One of the reports produced every year is “The 10 Leading Causes of Injury Deaths by Age Group Highlighting Unintentional Injury Deaths.” The most recent report, covering 2008, shows that children under the age of 10 are at risk of a number of unintentional accidents.

Unintentional Suffocation

Unintentional suffocation is the leading cause of death for infants and the fifth highest leading cause of injury death for children ages 1 to 4 and 5 to 9. Plastic bags, pillows, and blankets are just a few of the regular household items that can cause suffocation and should be kept away from children to prevent tragic accidents.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents are the third leading cause of death for infants, second for children ages 1 to 4, and first for children ages 5 to 9. Restraining your children properly can help protect them from the effects of accidents and obeying all traffic laws can help prevent accidents.

Drowning

Unintentional drowning is responsible for many tragic deaths each year and is the number one cause of unintentional death in the 1 to 4 age group. It is also the sixth leading cause of death for infants and second for kids ages 5 to 9. Always supervise children when they are swimming and make sure someone at the pool is trained in CPR and first aid.

Parents can take all the right precautions, but if a daycare worker or other caregiver does not supervise a child closely, one of these tragic accidents could happen. If your child suffered a serious or fatal injury as the result of someone else’s negligence, contact the Northern California wrongful death attorneys at Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys. We have extensive experience representing those whose lives have been harmed by the actions of others. Call us at (800) 900-0863 to schedule a free and confidential review of your case.