Halloween has Scary Injury Risks for Kids

Although Halloween is a fun-filled day for kids, it’s also one of the most dangerous days of the year for them. Every year, thousands of children end up in hospital emergency rooms from accidents and injuries sustained on Halloween.

Millions of young children look forward to Halloween in the fall. Dressing up in festive costumes, trick-or-treating for yummy candy, and hanging out with friends and family makes Halloween a high-anticipated event for kids. While children are enjoying a fun night out in the neighborhood, dangers are lurking that could result in injuries.

On Halloween, young children are especially at risk and need constant supervision by a parent or adult. While trick-or-treating, children should be accompanied by a parent or adult at all times. Studies show that up to 70 percent of parents do not go trick-or-treating with their kids, even kids as young as six year old or younger. Children who are not supervised while trick-or-treating can get seriously injured by falling, being hit by a car, bitten by a loose dog, or eating tainted candy.

Falls are a common cause of injuries on Halloween. Children often fall due to poor visibility from face masks and ill-fitting costumes. A fall onto hard concrete can easily cause severe injuries to a small child. An Oregon personal injury attorney commonly sees children with fractures and broken bones, serious lacerations, and head trauma that results from sudden falls.

Traffic accidents are also a major concern on Halloween. Some neighborhoods have large crowds of children who trick-or-treat down poorly-lit streets and sidewalks with no flashlight or reflective clothing. On Halloween night, kids are excited about collecting candy, so they often ignore stop signs, traffic lights, and crosswalks when crossing the street. Accident statistics shows that children are twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year.

Tainted candy can make kids very sick. Before your kids eat any candy, you should inspect it and throw away any candy that is unwrapped, hand-made by strangers, or contains known allergens like nuts or chocolate.