SALT LAKE CITY—Cracking a window as things heat up in the summer isn’t uncommon but it can prove to be dangerous for curious children trying to get a look outside. According to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital on average 28 children are treated each year for traumatic injuries caused by window falls. Most of these children are between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.

“We’ve seen an uptick in pediatric falls,” said Spencer Proctor, emergency department and trauma medical director, Intermountain Riverton Hospital. “It can result in minor soft tissue injury or can be a fracture. Some suffer long term problems.”

These are preventable injuries, he said. “But you first have to know how to prevent them. That’s why we’re hoping to educate the public now, so we all can help keep kids safe.”

In the last couple of years the number of children injured has almost doubled, said Dr. Michael Rollins, pediatric surgeon, University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “Increasingly there have been brain injuries and a lot of broken bones that have required surgical intervention.”

Jazarah Staton was injured in 2021 after falling from her second-story bedroom window when she was 3 years old.

“It was Memorial Day weekend,” said her father, Tariq Staton. “We were kicking off the summer. We put Jazz to bed and cracked a window so it wouldn’t get too stuffy. Then we heard a loud bang. We ran into her bedroom and saw that she wasn’t there.”

Staton said they could hear some moaning outside. “We got outside and found her wedged between the car and the garage door. It looked like she’d opened and fallen out of her window, that the car broke her fall, and then she slid down and hit the garage door. We found her on the ground, crying.”

She was treated as a trauma patient, said Shayna Staton, Jazarah’s mother. “They did a CT scan and found a minor brain bleed and a fractured skull. She was transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital” for more trauma assessments.

After her release, Jazarah returned to Primary Children’s for follow-up tests and speech therapy to ensure the traumatic brain injury didn’t cause cognitive disabilities or memory loss.

 “We know how severe the accident could have been if the car hadn’t been parked under the window,” Shayna said. “We know how lucky we are. This could have been prevented. Invest in a window lock.”

“Our focus is on injury prevention,” said Michelle Jamison, community health program manager at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “Open windows can be a hidden fall hazard for children, and thousands of kids are injured from window falls every year nationwide, but we can all help prevent these injuries by following the four-inch rule: Open windows four inches – about the length of a business card.”

When organizing a room make sure the furniture is away from the window, she said. “Screens are meant to keep bugs out, not to keep kids in. They can be pushed out too in case of an emergency.”

Procter said kids sustain more injuries from a fall than adults because their anatomy is different. “Their heads are bigger so that is struck first. They have a lot of chest trauma and head injuries from a fall.”

Traumatic brain injuries are the most devastating and severe injuries that can occur, said Rollins. “There might be long-term treatments and rehab to learn daily living skills again.”

Today Jazarah is an active 5-year-old. “We haven’t noticed any lingering effects, and she’s totally fine,” Shayna said. “She still talks about it. She remembers pushing up against the screen and falling out, but not when she landed. We are so lucky she’s OK.” 

Primary Children’s is offering free window clings as a reminder of the safety rules and can be found at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/primary-childrens/wellness-prevention.