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Don't Get Lazy About Lawn-Mower Safety

SATURDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Mowing the lawn is such a common summertime activity that many people forget that their lawn mower can cause serious injuries, experts warn.

Each year in the United States, about 200,000 people (including 16,000 children) are injured in lawn mower-related accidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Those injuries include severed fingers, toes and limbs, broken bones, eye damage and burns.

"In 19 years of practice as a plastic surgeon and microsurgeon, some of the most devastating and disabling injuries I've treated are from lawn-mower accidents," Dr. William Zamboni, president of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, said in a news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics. "It's especially concerning when children are injured since most of these injuries are preventable."

A group of medical societies, including the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, offers the following lawn-mower safety tips:

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