HCMC Concerned With High Rate of Kids Falling Out of Windows

MINNEAPOLIS - A large number of children falling through windows this summer in the Twin Cities metro have staff at Hennepin County Medical Center concerned.

So far this year, HCMC has treated 14 pediatric patients, ranging in age from 17 months to 7 years old, after they've fallen through a window. Seven children were treated for injuries from window falls last year, so already in 2010 this number has doubled.

HCMC said each incident of a child falling from a window is extremely traumatic for the patient, family members and witnesses. In most cases, the fall was entirely preventable.

"The problem is that kids usually aren't falling from a standing position," HCMC's Injury Prevention Specialist Julie Philbrook said. "They are usually jumping on a bed, climbing, or leaning on a screen. That's why I tell families to remove any such 'launch pads' near windows, and I remind them that screens can keep insects out, but can't bear the weight of a 20-pound child."

HCMC believes warm weather this spring and summer has contributed to the large number of window falls.

In July, 3-year-old Yasir Abdi climbed up to the bedroom window at his St. Cloud apartment while his mother was in another room. He leaned on the screen his body weight pushed it out and the child fell more than 30 feet onto the concrete parking lot below. Abdi spent two days in the hospital with a broken arm and hip.

According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, every year in the United States more than 3,000 children age five and younger are treated in hospitals after being hurt due to window falls. On average, about 19 kids under the age of 10 die from the fall.

Injuries sustained by the falls include skull and facial fractures, often with traumatic brain injury, as well as arm, leg and spine fractures and chest/abdomen injuries.

"Parents need to be aware of the dangers not only at their own home, but also when they take their kids to other places," Philbrook said.

Minnesota has a law for new home construction that sets a height from the floor for window sills in order to address this issue, but that doesn't help reduce the falls occurring in existing apartment buildings and houses.

Window fall prevention tips

• Safeguard your children by using window guards or window stops.
• Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows. (For windows on the 6th floor and below, install window guards that adults and older children can open easily in case of fire.)
• Install window stops so that windows open no more than 4 inches.
• Never depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows.
• Whenever possible, open windows from the top -- not the bottom.
• Keep furniture (and other such "launching pads") away from windows to discourage children from climbing near windows.
• Some jurisdictions require landlords to install guards. Check your local regulations.