Hospitals Treat Fireworks Injuries

Instead of barbecuing the day away or lounging on lawn chairs, some people spent the Fourth of July holiday weekend in hospital emergency rooms.

Hospitals treated several people for injuries related to fireworks, ranging from cuts and burns to fractures.

With eight injuries each, the Nebraska Medical Center and Lakeside Hospital reported the most — mostly first- and second- degree burns. One person at Lakeside had a corneal abrasion from a professional fireworks display.

A person went to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs with a major hand injury. Midlands Community Hospital in Papillion treated two people for fireworks-related burns.

One of Immanuel Medical Center’s four fireworks injuries was someone with a broken arm and a cut who was injured when a box of fireworks exploded in the person’s hands.

Creighton University Medical Center treated seven people, including a Ralston boy who was injured by a large explosive while he was swimming. — Lynn Safranek