Lawn mower injuries in children are more common than most think: each year over 2,500 lawn–mower injuries occur in children under 14
By Natasha O’Malley, MD
Spring is here, summer is coming and the yard needs some work — and so begins lawnmower season.
For most that’s the smell of cut grass and the satisfaction of some time in the fresh air while getting a chore done.
For professionals in every emergency department it’s the season of dreading a phone call reporting a child coming in with severed toes or a life altering injury such as an arm or leg or foot fracture with bone sticking out through a wound contaminated with grass and dirt — or profuse bleeding from an amputation that will forever alter the child’s life, if they survive.
Lawnmower injuries are devastating and occur daily throughout the season.
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) collects data on injuries sustained in association with consumer products in the US and each year over 2,500 lawnmower injuries occur in children under 14.
How does this happen?
It is unpleasant to consider, but some of the common ways these injuries are sustained is when a child is running toward the machine and slips under it, when the operator— usually a parent or grandparent — thinks they are alone and reverses the machine over the child that they can’t hear calling out to them, or when the excited toddler slips off their lap with the machine in motion.
The tragedy is irreversible and devastating to all. The physical wounds heal with intensive care, multiple surgeries and rehabilitation over a long time, but the injured limb is permanently altered. The emotional and psychological sequelae extend far beyond the child’s visible injuries. Although the lawnmower operator had no intent to harm, the guilt of such an injury to a loved one changes them forever.
How can you prevent this in your family? A lawnmower is a high-powered machine designed to cut and proper use requires caution and respect — and distance.
• Children should not be in the yard or vicinity of a working lawnmower; they should be indoors, supervised.
• Even if not on the grass while it is being cut, a child can still sustain a major injury — a stone or stick can be propelled at high speed by the blades and directly strike them, giving at best a permanent scar but maybe a mutilated eye.
• Eye injuries can also happen to the operator — safety goggles should always be worn.
• A child is not safe as a passenger sitting on a lap on a ride-on lawnmower while the grass is being cut, no matter the experience of the operator.
• Children love to help, and need to learn and partake in chores, but handling a lawnmower requires maturity and skills most don’t have and need to learn as they get older – with education and supervision. The American Academy of Pediatrics has published age guidelines for operating lawnmowers – 12 years old for a push lawnmower, and 16 for a ride-on lawnmower.
• Adults should also be educated on the lawnmower they are using – read the manual. It is always recommended to use eye, ear and foot protection while cutting grass. Use caution on slopes. Turn the engine off and let the blades cool before removing the discharge chute or unclogging it. Avoid reversing, there could be a child behind that you can’t see.
The injuries caused by lawnmowers are unimaginable unless you have seen them. First responders and family on the scene understand the trauma, as do the physicians and surgeons, nurses and all personnel involved in the complex care and recovery of the child injured by a lawnmower.
Don’t let it happen in your yard.
Natasha O’Malley is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who has worked for over 10 years in the University of Rochester Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital. Her areas of interest and expertise are in caring and managing children’s injuries. For more information, visit www.natashaomalley.com.