Safeguarding Your Home From Hidden Dangers

Most Americans across the country are following recommendations to self-isolate at home during the continued spread of COVID-19. With children spending more time in the house and many parents trying to work remotely, it is worthwhile to take a deeper look at some of the hidden dangers around your home.

PKSD Law discusses the extensive, sometimes fatal injuries that children suffer at home and steps you can take to help prevent them from happening.

Normal Household Items May Be Hazardous for Young Children

The National Safety Council recently reported that each year, approximately 2,200 small children under the age of four suffer fatal injuries at home.

One such injury occurred when a two-year-old, who was thought to be napping, ended up out of his crib and underneath an IKEA dresser that had tipped over and fallen on top of him. Unfortunately, he asphyxiated before anyone found him and he died

Furniture tip-over deaths of children happen far too often, as many as one child every two weeks, according to the U.S, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Most of these accidents can be prevented by purchasing special brackets from your local furniture or hardware store to attach your heavy furniture to the wall.

Most Common Serious Injuries To Children At Home

Other common, but serious, dangers to children around your home include:

• Furniture tip overs include bookcases, dressers, TVs and other large pieces of furniture
• Swallowing or choking on batteries or other small objects that are left lying around the house
• Burns from unprotected fireplaces and heaters
• Hospitalizations after swallowing laundry pods, which look like candy to children
• Strangulation from window shade and curtain cords
• Shock or electrocution after playing with socket plugs or electrical appliances
• Accidentally swallowing medicines, cosmetics or cleaning chemicals
• Playing with other dangers, including matches, lighters, candles or guns

Simple Safety Measures To Safeguard Your Home and Child

There are many ways you can simply and effectively safeguard your home to help protect your child from many common dangers. The list here is not exhaustive, but you can find more safety tips online, including in the free checklist we have provided in this month’s PKSD newsletter:

• Protect your child’s bedroom by doing a check for small objects, open electrical outlets, dangling cords, unsecured furniture or fabric, such as curtains, creating a fire hazard by hanging them too close to a nightlight.
• Safeguard all bathrooms by keeping the toilet shut and securing all medications, toiletries, cosmetics and cleaning items safely out of reach of your child.
• Make your kitchen more child-friendly by installing catches on drawers that could pull out and fall on your child, storing knives, detergents and small appliances out of reach of your children.
• Other home safety protection includes smoke alarms, moving plants, storing away small items, securing guns, and other dangers to children.

Contact One Of Our Trusted Attorneys For Legal Help

If you need legal help after you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to another’s negligence, we encourage you to contact one of our experienced Milwaukee personal injury lawyers. We operate on contingency so there is no risk or obligation to schedule a consultation with one of our reputable attorneys. Not only is the initial consultation completely free, but there are also no upfront costs if you hire us to represent you. We do not get paid unless you do.

During COVID-19, we remain fully open and able to process new claims and handle existing cases 100 percent online, so you can move forward with a claim without endangering your health.

PKSD Law. Call today to learn how we can help. FREE Consultation. 414-333-3333