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Record Number of Deaths Reached

The inside of a car in the middle of summer can average between 120 to 140 degrees fahrenheit.

To date, eighteen children have passed away from hyperthermia this year.  Unlike hypothermia, hyperthermia is induced from extreme amounts of heat that ravage the body, and occasionally, lead to death.  The risk of death is especially high amoung young children, because their bodies are unable to cope with the high temperatures.  When a child experiences an excessive amount of heat, heat stroke, or hyperthermia they will experience dizziness, fainting, and eventually, lose consciousness.  If the child is unable to release heat from their inner core--nearly impossible in a hot car--they can fall into a dangerous state that can even lead to brain damage.  Medical officials estimate that it only takes half an hour for these severe effects to occur.  

In over half of the cases, the parents claimed that it was an accident, that they forgot.  In the case of a Melody Costello, her four-month-old little boy was in the car with his father when his father ran into the office for a moment.  That moment became three hours.  Because the father did not normally drop the child off at child care, he forgot that his son was even out there.  When the little boy was found, his body temperature was near 108 degrees fahrenheit, and he did not survive.

In other cases, children can wander into a vehicle to play, and then become trapped.  A two-year-old boy from Alabama died last Monday from hyperthermia because he was playing with other children when he became locked in the car. 

As the end of June comes, we only have troubling stories to report about children who have been left in overheated automobiles.  In the last two weeks, eight children have passed away.  Add ten more to that number, because eighteen in total have died this year.  The United States has now reached a record number of juvenile deaths for hyperthermia while trapped inside of a vehicle for this point in the summer. 

Of course, these records only go back to 1998 when the total number of hyperthermia-induced deaths was first recorded.  Within the past twelve years, we regret to report that 463 children have passed away because they were left or trapped inside of an over-heated vehicle.  On average, that is thirty-eight children a year.  That number is far too high.  

Now, these numbers are the highest they have ever been at this point in the year.  Scientists at San Francisco State University are calling this an "epidemic," but unlike other epidemics, this is one that could be prevented.  This dangerous trend could be wiped out by spreading awareness and reminding parents of the implications involved in leaving your child in a car in the middle of summer.  We have yet to reach record numbers for this year as a whole, but the worst is yet to come.  Typically, July is very hot and results in the most deaths, but there is always a chance that this July could be a cool one.   

The Kansas City child injury & accident attorneys of Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys are committed to informing the public, preventing child injury and accident situations, and then protecting the victims of child injury situations.  We are commited to getting victims the justice and compensation they deserve, and we can help you.
     

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