Fireworks-related injuries up 65% at Seattle hospital
Three siblings injured in Kent, WA, fireworks accident
Three young people were seriously injured Sunday, in a fireworks accident in Kent, WA. Fireworks are illegal to discharge in Kent.
Seattle's Harborview Medical Center has released the number and type of firework-related injuries from this year's Fourth of July celebrations in western Washington.
Harborview treated a total of 86 people with firework-caused injuries within the past week, representing a 65% increase from last year.
By the numbers:
As of 11 a.m. on July 6, Tim Frederickson, Harborview's associate chief nursing officer, reported that 86 people with the following injuries had shown up to the hospital:
- 32 involving hands
- 15 involving eyes
- 13 involving other body areas (e.g., heads, legs, abdomen)
- 26 involving multiple areas (such as hands and eyes)
"This is a troubling increase," Fredrickson said. "More importantly, these are all individuals whose holiday ended in the emergency department instead of with family and friends. Many of the injuries are severe, including burns, hand and eye trauma that may carry lifelong consequences. Most were preventable."
This is a 65% increase from last year, when 52 injuries were treated at Harborview.
Harborview Medical Center is the only Level I adult and pediatric trauma center in WA, and is the regional trauma and burn center for Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
The Source: Information in this article is from the University of Washington Medical Local News.
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