Eugene Oregon Personal Injury Attorneys

Creating a Safer Oregon for Children: Dangers of Riding Lawn Mowers

As part of Corson & Johnson’s mission to create a safer Oregon for children, we recently tried a case against a lawn mower manufacturer and distributor after a two-year-old Springfield girl was severely injured in a riding lawnmower accident. The girl’s father, not realizing his daughter had come into the yard, was reversing his riding lawnmower when he struck the girl and caused extensive injuries to her leg. The lawn mower lacked an industry-recommended safety modification that stops the blades when the machine is put into reverse. With this safety modification, this accident could have easily been prevented.

People often overlook the dangers involved in using a lawn mower and children become victims of lawn mower-related accidents at an alarming rate. In many cases of lawn mower accidents, injuries could have been prevented with the use of a reverse kill-switch or a stability bar for rollover protection.  According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports, 200,000 people are injured in lawn mower-related accidents each year, 16,000 of them children. Approximately 9,400 children under the age of 18 receive emergency treatment each year for lawn mower-related injuries. Prevention of these injuries can be achieved with minor changes to the design of lawn mowers, strict guidelines for mower operation, and education of parents and children before use of lawn mowing equipment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides the following tips to help prevent lawn mower-related injuries to adults and children:

• Children should be at least 12 years old before they operate any lawn mower and at least 16 years old for a ride-on mower.
• Children should never be passengers on ride-on mowers.
• Young children should be kept at a safe distance from the mowing area.
• Pick up stones, toys and debris first from the lawn to prevent injuries from flying objects.
• Never pull backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary.
• Blade settings should be set by an adult only.

It is important to remember that allowing a child to mow the lawn is a responsibility that should be taken seriously and allowed only after proper instruction and education. According to the AAP, your child should show the maturity, good judgment, strength and coordination that the job requires.

“No parent wants a beautiful summer day to turn into a tragedy for a child. Yet we see the results of children operating lawn mowers in an unsafe manner every year. As pediatricians, it is part of our job to be sure parents and children know how to be safe around these machines,” said AAP president David Tayloe, Jr, MD, FAAP.