Accident on a Farm

Three-Year-Old Boy Falls from Window

The injured boy was flown by rescue helicopter to the University Hospital in Linz.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / MARTIN SCHARINGER)

Dramatic moments in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria: A three-year-old boy fell from a window at a farm in Bad Zell and suffered severe head injuries. A window screen likely gave the child a false sense of security that it could not provide.

Once again, it was a window screen that promised a false sense of security and then turned into a life-threatening trap. On Saturday afternoon, a grandmother suffered the shock of her life while watching her three-year-old grandson at a farm in Bad Zell.

A Moment of Inattention
The boy managed to climb onto the windowsill on the first floor of the building during a moment when no one was watching—it is still unclear whether the window was open or if the child opened it himself—and leaned against the fly screen. The screen couldn’t withstand the pressure, and the three-year-old fell headfirst out of the window.

Seriously Injured, but Out of Life-Threatening Condition
Despite a severe head injury, the young boy from the Mühlviertel region was responsive after the accident and was flown by rescue helicopter to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz. There, the three-year-old is receiving intensive care; however, according to initial reports, he is out of danger and is expected to make a full recovery.

“A typical case”
Unfortunately, children falling out of windows is not an isolated incident. According to the Austrian Road Safety Board, three young children are involved in such accidents each year in Upper Austria. Ninety percent of these accidents occur from the first floor, and in 77 percent of cases, the children involved are under five years of age.