In December 2010, a study published in the medical journal, Pediatrics analyzed sledding-related data over a period of 10 years, and found that almost 230,000 people suffered injuries during that period of time.
There are approximately 21,000 sledding injuries every year. More than 40% of these injuries involve children between the ages of 10 and 14. Not surprisingly, the most common injuries in these accidents are head injuries.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, many of these injuries could have been prevented only if the child had been wearing a helmet at the time.
California brain injury attorneys advise the use of helmets to prevent sledding-related injuries among children. When the child is having fun on the snow, it can be easy to ignore the dangers that he is exposed to. For instance, a sled can reach a speed of between 20 and 35 mph. Head injuries can be seen in approximately 15 % of the sledding injuries that require a visit to the emergency rooms. In more than 40% of these cases, the child has suffered a brain injury. Wearing a helmet is the single most important thing that you can do to prevent traumatic brain injuries during a sledding accident.