The holidays are a time to come together with family and friends, which often means we travel more often, visit new restaurants, homes, and other areas we may not be so familiar with. As exciting as this time of year can be, it can also be quite dangerous. Between the travel increase and the cooler temperatures, plenty of people find themselves injured over the holidays. In order to prevent any holiday mishaps, find out what types of injuries are common and discover how you can avoid them.
Some of the most common holiday injuries include:
Decorating Faux Pas
Data collected by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tells us that decorating mishaps cause the most injuries during the winter months. Folks trying to hang Christmas lights or other decorations might slip off of their roof or fall from the ladder, leading to extremely serious injuries. If you do your own decorating, make sure you do your part to secure your ladder before you use it, and always ask for help with roof-related tasks. If you hire someone to do your decorating, you need to be especially careful about their safety, or you could find yourself tied up in a premises liability issue.
Christmas Tree Disasters
Christmas trees are staple decorations during December, but as pleasant as they may be to look at, they can be extremely dangerous when improperly cared for. Dry trees can be extremely flammable, and if your lights get too hot or if a candle is left burning too close to the branches, the tree could ignite. House fires caused by Christmas trees are surprisingly common during the winter months, which is why it’s so important to monitor your tree whenever the lights are on and never leave any candles unattended.
Icy Injuries
With winter weather comes icy sidewalks and driveways, which can lead to severe slip and fall accidents. Simple falls, especially those that take place over hard, frozen ground, can lead to broken bones, serious bruises, sprains, fractures, or head wounds. In order to prevent such injuries, make sure you keep your sidewalk and driveway cleared after a snowfall to make the path easier to navigate, this way any visitors are less likely to hurt themselves on your property. For your own sake, you should always wear proper footwear when the weather is cool so as to avoid any damaging falls.
Winter Crashes
As the roads fill up with holiday travelers, the number of car accidents only increases. During December, holiday parties bring people out of their homes more often and sometimes lead to dangerous drinking and driving accidents. In order to avoid this, always appoint a designated driver at parties where alcohol is involved and avoid driving late at night when drunk drivers are more likely to be out and about. Also, the cold weather often makes for icy roads and poor visibility, which can cause drivers to lose control and cause serious accidents. Always make sure your vehicle is properly equipped to handle the cold weather and try to avoid driving when the weather is poor.
By avoiding these common mishaps, you can do your part to keep yourself and your family safe this holiday season. However, sometimes even the best preparations aren’t enough to prevent serious injuries. If you were harmed this holiday season due to someone else’s negligence or error, our firm can help.
Contact the Law Offices of Vic Feazell, P.C.to discuss your case with our Austin personal injury lawyer.