Valley Children's Hospital seeing more children injured from falling from windows

MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) --
The warmer weather is here but it can also lead to safety hazards for kids, especially younger ones.

Dr. Shannon Castle is the Trauma Medical Director at Valley Children's.

"Something that may not seem dangerous from an adult standpoint, they either don't think their child can climb up on to the piece of furniture, don't realize how strong their child is, pushing against the screen for example and they end up falling out," Dr. Castle said.

Kristina Pasma, the Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator, says they see these cases year round.

But right now, Valley Children's Hospital is seeing an uptick of these injuries.

"Often times when the weather is nicer and people tend to have their windows open, that's when we see more of these cases and we have seen more of those cases in the last month," Pasma said.

Data from Consumer Product Safety Commission shows about eight deaths happen each year to children five years old and younger because they fell from a window.

With an estimated 3,300 kids getting treated for an injury.

"The data we have actually shows it's more common, when you get more stories, because you get more severe injuries although it can happen on a one story," Dr. Castle said. "My collegaues have done papers on this and it is actually more common in condos and apartments."

Kids can hurt their arms, legs, neck, and head if they fall from a window.

That can cause future health problems.

"If parents start to notice, there's behavior changes, so the child is more irritable than usual or maybe they're sleeping more than they normally do, or they have vomiting, they should also be seen by their physician," Pasma said.

But there are steps that families can take to keep their children safe.

Such as installing window locks or window guards, even moving your furniture, can help.

"If you are in a position to install them in your own home, you can. If you're in a landlord situation, ask them and advocate for your neighbors to have them as well," Dr. Castle said.

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