Alarming Data in the Amount of Children Injured While Playing Baseball

Greg Webb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT

While baseball may seem to be a fairly safe sport, researchers have found that over a thirteen year period, more than one and a half million players under eighteen years of age were injured enough to be treated in emergency rooms. Although it is unclear how many children are involved in the sport, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) claims there are about six million in leagues and another thirteen million playing baseball on their own.

Researchers discovered this alarming data after analyzing a nationally representative sample of emergency room visits from baseball-related injuries during the years 1994 to 2006 using data that was gathered by the CPSC. Though most of the injuries were minor and more than ninety-eight percent were treated in the emergency room and released, 24,350 required hospitalization, mostly due to fractures and concussions.

The data has shown a decline in the amount of injuries from 147,357 in 1994 to 110,602 in 2006 possibly due to improvements in equipment. For example, the most common injuries were caused by children being hit by the ball, however, the now softer safety balls have been offering more protection. A separate study has also shown there have been no facial injuries to batters wearing helmets with face guards. Doctors hope there can also be a change to encourage children to wear mouth guards while playing the sport for added protection.

It seems clear to this writer that the improvements in safety equipment have helped to reduce injuries. Having played baseball as a young man from age 7 to 18, when we did not use batting gloves and wore metal spikes, it is nice to see the game is a bit safer than in the "old days" when I played. But, for traditionalists, it may be shocking to see a young person going to bat with a helmet and face mask, and hitting a "safety ball". I guess it depends upon the angle from which you view the situation, but it is hard to argue with the above numbers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Studies Show Emergency Rooms Overwhelmed By Uninsured

Greg Webb — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

A recent report, released by the American College of Emergency Physicians, states the nation’s system of emergency rooms is in serious trouble. More and more unemployed or uninsured Americans are turning to emergency rooms as a last resort becaue emergency rooms are legally obligated to see all patients who enter their doors, regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Doctors warn that the facilities, which are already overburdened, could have even more trouble handling cases of broken bones, heart attacks and other traumas that they deem their core mission. Even before the recession, emergency rooms around the country were reporting dangerously long waits for patients and the frequent need to redirect ambulances to other hospitals. Just two years ago, a government survey found there were about 120 million visits to emergency rooms annually, a third higher than a decade earlier. Even then doctors called emergency rooms overburdened, so a recession will just make conditions worse; hospitals will have to absorb the unpaid medical bills and some are already experiencing a much higher influx of patients without insurance.

escalating number of uninsured and the delays in getting primary care create a crisis. One of the physicians’ major concerns is the potentially long wait by patients requiring a hospital bed. After surveying its members last year, the doctor’s group learned of at least two hundred fatalities related to the practice of “boarding”, in which patients on stretchers line the corridors of the facility until they can be moved into a bed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer - emergency rooms

Alarming Data in the Amount of Children Injured While Playing Baseball

Studies Show Emergency Rooms Overwhelmed By Uninsured