Smartphone Injuries Cause Spike In Hospital Visits

Hospitals in the US are seeing a spike in visits thanks to injuries caused by smartphones. And while the occasional ER patient is there because the device was thrown at them, doctors are mostly treating for facial cuts, bruises, and fractures due to careless use, according to a new study. Published Thursday in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology, the research found that people were increasingly showing up for cell phone-related head and neck injuries starting in 2006, around the time smartphones started becoming popular.  Dr. Boris Paskhover of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who reveals he treated a woman for a broken nose after she dropped the phone on her face, says many of the injuries were caused by texting while walking, tripping and landing face-down on the sidewalk.