The Biggest Threats to the Lives of NYC Children

New York City children die from injuries sustained at half the national rate, the city's Health Department says in a new report. The city's relative safety is due to its residents' heavy reliance on public transportation, which significantly lowers risk of transportation-related deaths.

Despite the lowered risk of injuries in traffic crashes, injuries remain the leading cause of childhood fatalities in the city, accounting for 29 percent.

Safety Differences Between Groups

The report highlights important differences between age groups, genders, income and ethnicities in fatalities caused by injuries from 2001 to 2008:

Children between one and three years old died at the rate of 6.8 deaths per 100,000 children; 10- to 12-year-olds had a rate of 3.5 deaths per 100,000
Boys suffered 4.6 fatalities per 100,000, while girls had 3.6 deaths per 100,000
Non-Hispanic black children had 6.6 deaths per 100,000, while there were 3.3 fatalities per 100,000 Hispanic children and 3.4 deaths per 100,000 non-Hispanic white children
Children in the highest-income neighborhoods suffered 2.3 deaths per 100,000, while children in the lowest-income neighborhoods had a rate of 5.2 fatalities per 100,000
Of the 439 injury-related child deaths in the surveyed years, two-thirds were unintentional while one-quarter involved someone's intent to cause the youngster harm.

Unintentional Injuries

The 2010 Report from the Child Fatality Review Team also broke down statistics on the unintentional injuries to New York City children:

41 percent were transportation-related
28 percent were due to fires and burns
10 percent were caused by suffocation
9 percent were the results of falls

When a Child is Injured

In many child-injury cases, an investigation by a personal injury attorney is in order to help determine why the injury took place and who is liable for the medical costs, continued treatment of injuries and other damages.

These investigations often follow slip and fall incidents, dog bites, lead-poisoning, injuries involving inadequate security issues or inadequate lighting, injuries caused by unsecured hazardous materials or machinery, and similar causes of serious injury or even death.

If your child has been harmed by someone's negligence or wrongdoing, contact a New York personal injury lawyer for an evaluation of the facts of the case. A personal injury attorney helps parents fight to protect their children's health and rights.

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