FACTS 

1. Accidents happen every day, and the U.S. sees about 35,000 per year from lawn mowing alone. This leads to an average of 90 deaths per year from lawn mower accidents, and people are more likely to die from this than they are from many common fears, such as shark attacks and spider bites.
2. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should be at least 12 years of age to operate a walk-behind power mower or hand mower safely and 16 years of age to operate a riding lawn mower safely. 
3. Usually the victims are older children or teens, but one in four injuries occurs to children younger than 6 years.
4. Almost half of the injuries to children younger than 6 years are burns to the hands. This usually happens when the child touches a hot motor.
5. Bystanders are also injured by lawn mowers. This can happen if the lawn mower ejects debris or if someone on a ride-on mower backs up over a child.
6. Common lawn mower-related injuries are deep cuts; loss of fingers, hands, toes, or feet; broken and dislocated bones; burns; eye injuries; soft tissue damage; and sprains or strains.

STATS

• In the U.S., more than 9,000 children go to the emergency room for lawn mower-related injuries every year. (healthychildren.org, 2018)
• In 2016, more than 86,000 adults and 4,500 children in the U.S. were treated in emergency departments for injuries related to lawn mowers. (aaos.org)
• The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates more than 37,000 Americans suffer a power mower-related injury each year. (foothealthfacts.org)
• On average every day in the United States, 13 children receive emergency treatment for a lawn mower-related injury. (sciencedaily.com, 2017)
• Each year, 800 children in the US alone, are run over by riding mowers or small tractors and more than 600 of those incidents result in amputation; 75 people are killed, and 20,000 injured; one in five deaths involves a child.