Riding Mower Defects Endanger Children

Each spring and summer our attorneys see an increasing number of injuries to children caused by lawnmowers. An estimated 9,400 children are injured each year. Many of the accidents result in amputations of legs, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Experts say that the most serious accidents occur when operators back up rider mowers with the mower blades engaged and run over small children they can’t see.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, back over accidents alone account for 560 injuries to children each year. Statistics show that the overall rate of all types of injuries for both adults and children is 2.6 injuries per 1,000 involving ride-on mowers. That is a very high ratio of injury especially for a product used seasonally and not on a daily basis.
In 2003, the lawnmower industry adopted a voluntary industry safety standard requiring new rider mowers to have a “no-mow-in-reverse feature” to prevent the mower from backing up with the blades powered. But, the safety standard allows manufacturers to install a device that overrides the feature.
Many of these accidents could be easily avoided if the mower manufacturers installed more effective no-mow-in-reverse devices and made it more difficult for operators to override the devices. A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that the rate of lawnmower related injuries to children remained constant from 1990 through 2004 and concluded “current safety features on these products are not adequate to prevent lawnmower-related injuries”.
Most override switches are located on the front control of the mower. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that manufacturers locate the override switches on either the posterior wheel well or behind the seat. This would force the operator to look behind the mower before disengaging the no-mow-in-reverse feature.