With spring already here, children in Latvia spend more time outside, do sports, ride bicycles and scooters, play on playgrounds and engage in other outdoor activities. BALTA insurance company reminds – all this means higher risk of traumas: BALTA paid children’s families more than EUR 400 000 last year for injuries sustained in various accidents, and most of the injuries occurred in spring and summer months.
Start of 2024 already rich with child traumas
According to statistical data from BALTA, in the first three months of 2024, the number of traumas suffered by children in Latvia has increased by nearly 24% when compared to the same period of 2023: the insurance company has paid compensation amounts for 870 injuries suffered by children. This coincides with the period of time when there was a surge in traumas suffered because of slippery walkways. In most cases children suffer various bruises, wounds and ligament sprains. The Top 3 of these types of injuries has remained unchanged for several years.
“Most often children under the age of 10 suffer injuries – last year BALTA paid 70% more compensations in this age group than the year prior. At the same time, this indicates that parents are becoming more cautious and are insuring their children for various accidents more often. We all hope our children are happy and never suffer any misfortune, but it is better to prepare for different scenarios,” says BALTA Risk Management specialist Ludmila Ščegoļeva.
Everyday situations can end up being painful for children and expensive for their parents. Most of such accidents are caused by recklessness or carelessness, the insurance company warns.
The biggest compensation amount paid last year was EUR 3 500. It was paid to some family when their baby fell down from the table and received a serious head trauma. Ludmila Ščegoļeva admits – there were bigger compensation amounts paid in the past, but those were sad cases that ended with children becoming invalids or dying.
Babies receive injuries at home. Older children receive injuries doing sports
Children of pre-school age receive household injuries in most cases: mostly wounds, bruises, fractures of the arms and legs, dental injuries. In turn, primary school children receive various injuries while doing sports activities and injuries sustained in amusement parks and school sports classes. In 2023, a large number of cases of Lyme disease were also observed in this age group.
As for older children, they mostly get injured while doing sports – bruises, sprains, fractures and finger injuries. According to data from BALTA, the majority of traumas are suffered while playing football, basketball and while riding a bicycle.
“In total, BALTA paid compensations for traumas suffered in 71 types of sports in 2023. The number of traumas suffered during football training and football games in up by 50%, and for basketball they are up by 66%. The number of traumas suffered while riding a bicycle is up by a quarter,” says Ludmila Ščegoļeva.
Electric scooters – dangerous fun
In the teenage group there was an increase of traumas received in various road traffic accidents. Almost always they are severe traumas – complex fractures, polytraumas, head injuries.
“When it comes to road traffic accidents, unfortunately there is no way to ignore electric scooters. Last year, the number of paid compensation amounts had doubled for the age group under 18 years,” says BALTA expert.
Children are not always to blame: for example, children of some family were hospitalised once because a man riding an electric scooter had collided with them.
“Unfortunately, many adults and many children forget that to drive any micromobility device – scooter, Tec Trike, Stepaway, Segway, etc. – a person needs appropriate skill and knowledge of road traffic rules. Both drivers, pedestrians and other road traffic participants often end up injured in road traffic accidents. Property is also often damaged, which means the purchase of accident and liability insurance policies is the least that should be done before resorting to micro-mobility solutions,” says Ludmila Ščegoļeva.
The law stipulates that electric scooters are only allowed to used from the age of 14 and if a person has a bicycle license or driving license of any category.
“As summer approaches, parents and teachers should definitely discuss with children safety rules on the street, in playgrounds, near the water. Just because safety issues are discussed once doesn’t mean you can forget about them – because that’s exactly what happens without going back to them every now and then. Children are like sponges that absorb all the new information, impressions are many, so the most important knowledge is worth repeating, so that the beautiful, sunny weather brings only joyful moments and pleasant emotions!” says Ščegoļeva.
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Scooters, reckless toys: the most often cause of child traumas
