Although Portland is known for being a city where people of all ages ride their bikes both for pleasure and to get where they are going, the reality is that bicycles are still particularly popular among children and youth, particularly those who are too young to drive a car.
It should come as no surprise, then, that many victims of bike accidents are minor children. In fact, according to a recent report, over a 10-year period, 2.2 million children between 5 and 17 across the country had to visit an emergency room because of a bike accident. This equates to 600 emergency room visit per day during this time.
Thankfully, many of these injuries didn’t entail lasting injuries, except perhaps for the possibility of some minor scarring. However, some of these injuries are no doubt quite serious and can affect a child’s life in the long term.
For instance, over 10 percent of these injuries involved some type of traumatic brain injury. Doing the math, this means there were 60 emergency room visits a day because a child suffered brain injuries on account of a bike accident. While traumatic brain injuries range from mild to severe, and many resolve themselves, they always have to be taken very seriously.
The statistics did not break down how many of these accidents were due to another vehicle striking a bicyclist, but it is common knowledge that this of course happens from time to time. If a child gets hurt on a bicycle because of another motorist’s negligence, then the child’s family may be able to get compensation for medical expenses and other damages.
