Skate injuries cost about $3,200 in bills and time

Skate parks may bruise the local economy just as much as the skaters who enjoy the park, researchers at UCI’s Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention reported Wednesday.

Federico Vada, a UCI professor of emergency medicine, led a team of researchers that studied skate park-related patients at UCI Medical Center. The average cost of an injury was $3,200, including medical costs and lost wages.

People older than 25 missed an average of 17 days of work because of their injuries. Children’s injuries didn’t hurt their wallets as much as their families, researchers said. The child would miss school, but the parent misses work to take the child to doctors’ appointments.

— Joseph Serna