A 7-year-old boy was injured in Framingham on Friday when he fell out of the third floor window at a condo complex. (Some media reports are saying the window was on the second floor.) The Massachusetts fall accident happened after the window screen popped out.
The boy fell some twenty feet to land on the pavement. He was flown by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital.
According to police, the child sustained serious facial, leg, and head injuries. Both parents were home at the time of the Framingham, MA window fall accident.
Window Fall Accidents
Accidental falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injury to kids. According to SafeKids.org, most serious fall accidents happen at home, with boys three times more likely to die from their fall injuries.
In 2011, a study published in the journal Pediatrics reported that more than 5,100 American kids are hospitalized annually in window fall accidents. 25% of these children are injured seriously enough to warrant admittance.
While there are steps that parents and guardians can take to prevent window fall accidents—installing window stops and guards, making sure that window screens are secured and in place, keeping away any piece of furniture or object that will allow a young child to stand at level with a window opening—sometimes, negligent acts by other parties can contribute to causing such a terrible accident.
Fall accidents that take place at ground level can lead to injuries that are serious enough. Compound this type of accident with the impact and speed of falling from an elevated level and the consequences can be catastrophic.
Just last year the family of one boy sued a window maker, installer, and seller for $9.1 million. The boy, who was just a toddler when he fell out of a second-story window that his parents thought was closed, sustained a fractured skull, brain damage, and bleeding near his brain.
According to the plaintiffs, even though the window appeared latched, a deformity kept it from staying latched. The boy fell through the screen, landing on the concrete below. Others named as defendants included a couple of construction companies and a home inspections firm.
In Massachusetts, our Boston window fall accident lawyers can help you explore your legal options.
Child falls from third floor window at Framingham condo, Patch.com, May 6, 2015
Pediatric injuries attributable to falls from windows in the US in 1990 – 2008, Pediatric
4-year-old Happy valley boy’s fall from window leads to $9.1 million lawsuit, The Oregonian, May 2, 2014
Two Ma. toddlers seriously hurt after window fall, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 14, 2013