December 1992: Marilyn Dumas, a 9-year-old girl lost her life as she was accidentally hung on a coat hook while playing in a washroom stall at school.
February 1998: Myles Neuts, a 10-year-old boy was found hanging on a coat hook in a washroom stall at school. Myles died six days later.
April 2004: Tallon Moffat, a JK student, was found hanging from a coat hook in her classroom while her classmates attended a presentation in the auditorium. Fortunately, her teacher realized she was missing and found her before she was seriously injured.
April 2005: 9-year-old Dominic Jones hung himself on a coat hook in a cloakroom at his school to play a prank on his classmates. Thankfully, he survived the incident after spending two days in ICU.
January 2008: 7-year-old Tevin Park-Flowers was found hanging from a coat hook in a washroom stall at his school. He was playing a game in the washroom and accidentally hung himself.
February 2009: 10-year-old Aquan Lewis is alleged to have committed suicide at school. He was found hanging on a coat hook in the washroom stall.
March 2009: 7-year-old Javier Morales was found by his younger sister hanging from a coat hook in his home. His sister pulled him off the hook and is credited for saving his life.
The number one health risk to Canadian children aged 14 and younger is unintentional, preventable injury. In Canada, the leading cause of death and disability for children is preventable injuries. More children die annually from injuries than from all other childhood diseases combined. The annual economic burden of unintentional injuries for all ages is $8.7 billion.*
Coat hooks have been a danger to school-aged children for a long time. Independent research has found numerous deaths dating back to the 1800?s. In some of the most recent cases the children were just playing. The children didn?t know that they could die or be hurt from playing around a coat hook. These deaths and injuries are preventable. Currently, there are no safety standards that apply to coat hooks; however, there is a solution to this danger. The solution is a safety device called the HenkelHookTM.
The HenkelHookTM is a unique safety release coat hook that supports 26 lb of weight. Once the weight limit has been reached, the hook will release, the load will fall off and the hook automatically resets; thus preventing a child from being hung on a coat hook.
Please teach your children to play safe and be aware of dangerous coat hooks. Ask your child?s school to install the HenkelHookTM so all kids can be safe at school! For more information, please contact Becky Regier at 519-777-3875 or by email at becky@henkelhook.com.
*Source: SMARTRISK, a national injury prevention organization
