Practice Areas

Consumer News

Client
Testimonials

Library

A Child's Fireworks Story | The Dangers and Unpredictability of Fireworks

The Fourth of July is a time of family fun and relaxation. To many people it also involves watching and handling fireworks, a common holiday activity. This Fourth of July was to be like many others, neighbors gathering for a picnic and children playing. A friend had purchased a large quantity of fireworks which were to be used to entertain children. Mary's parents did not want her handling them or being too near them. In order keep her safe, they stationed her in the garage, with the door open, in a lawn chair, well away from the street where the fireworks were to be ignited.

The friend placed some of the fireworks in the road and began to ignite them. One of them was a multiple mortar pack which would explode with colored lights flying 30 to 35 feet into the air. Unexpectedly, as the explosives began to discharge, the mortar base toppled over. This sent the mortars exploding off in various directions close to the ground. One flew into the garage and landed in Mary's lap, striking her in the upper leg and groin.

She suffered immediate pain in the right thigh and flank from the burns. Paramedics arrived and applied a burn gel/wrap. She was transported to a local emergency room, where she was diagnosed with second and third degree burns to the right arm, right thigh, right chest and stomach and left inner thigh. Because of the seriousness of her burns she had to be transferred to the burn center. She was kept as an inpatient and required surgery for removal of burn tissue and skin grafting from a donor site on her body. Following surgery, she was admitted to the pediatric intensive care.Over the next year, she underwent physical therapy to increase the range of motion of her burned arms and legs, gait training, occupational therapy, and fabrication of a splint for proper positioning of her arm and ankle. She was evaluated at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Cincinnati. Over a year after the accident, she's still required moisturizer, sun protection, and an additional six months of the use of pressure garments to encourage wound healing. Her medical expenses were more than $50,000.

Throughout the recovery and treatment period this six year-old child endured tremendous pain and suffering associated with her significant burns, the trauma of hospitalization, the daily repeated painful bandage removal and wound treatment, which resulted in her screaming through each procedure. She was left with permanent scarring which caused her to suffer emotionally from being self-conscious of her scars as she matured.

The facts you have read were based on an actual occurrence. The name of the child has been changed for obvious reasons. She was more fortunate than many burn victims who suffer from such unfortunate accidents, as there was homeowner's insurance available to compensate her for her injuries. While her case was resolved on a confidential basis, many burn victims do not have recourse to compensation. This is particularly true when their injuries occur because of the actions of a sibling, a parent or from their own activities.

We encourage parents and guardians to be extremely careful in allowing their children to be in and around fireworks. While they are beautiful and fascinating to children, they burn at an extremely high temperature and cause hideous scarring and suffering. Even common sparklers are a potential cause for harm. All parents and guardians are urged to use caution when children want to participate in fireworks activities. Even when safeguards are used, mixing children and fireworks can be dangerous and unpredictable. Don't allow a few minutes of fun become a lifetime of regret.

Learn more about Clearwater Attorney James W. Dodson :

Read his biography ^

Contact The Law Office of James W. Dodson now for a FREE consultation regarding your personal injury case. There is no obligation to hire a lawyer.  There is no fee until we successfully recover fair compensation for you.

Free Consultation

Videos

FAQs