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Why is There an Increase of Injuries During the Holiday Season?

11/16/2021
Personal Injury
BY

It seems like every year during the holidays, someone gets hurt, either in a minor way, quite severely, or everything in-between. The reason is that injuries do indeed increase during the holidays for a number of reasons. 

If you’re injured during the holidays by another person’s negligence or unlawful act, let the Florida personal injury lawyers at Searcy Denney help. Unfortunately, the time limit by which you must file your claims, called the statute of limitations, won’t wait until after you’re done celebrating. That being the case, we’ll take care of the details and allow you to continue with the festivities.

Fortunately, there is hard data supporting the calls for increased safety during the holidays.

The Data Speaks for Itself

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) provides the following data regarding the holiday season:

Toys 

Toy manufacturers and retailers are facing both supply-chain delays, including global shipping issues, which raises issues about a possible toy shortage. This could lead to a consumer scramble to buy products wherever they can find them and create room for unscrupulous sellers to sell dangerous or counterfeit products.  

  • Toy-related injuries and deaths continue to impact thousands of children in the United States each year: CPSC reports that in 2020, there were nearly 150,000 toy-related, emergency department-treated injuries and nine deaths among children ages 14 and younger, with most of these deaths associated with choking on small parts of toys.
  • Non-Motorized scooters account for 21 percent of all toy-related emergency injuries: The number of injuries increased 17 percent in the fiscal year 2021, from 35,600 scooter injuries reported in 2020, to 41,700 injuries reported in 2021. 

Cooking

As people cook Christmas and other holiday dinners, bake treats, and share meals with family and friends, it is important to take safety precautions to avoid dangerous residential fires.

  • Cooking fires remain the number one cause of residential fires. CPSC data shows that there are about 360,000 home fires every year, leading to about 2,400 deaths and nearly 10,400 injuries.
  • An average of 1,700 of these cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving Day, more than three times the average number of cooking fires on any other day of the year.
  • Turkey fryers are particularly risky. Since 1998, CPSC is aware of 222 fire or scald/burn incidents involving turkey fryers, resulting in 83 injuries and $9.7 million in property loss.

Decorating

Holiday decorations and celebrations are an annual tradition for many families, but dry Christmas trees, holiday lights, and burning candles pose a real threat if not used and maintained carefully. 

  • On average, there are about 160 decorating-related injuries each day during the holiday season, with almost half of the incidents involving falls. In the 2019 holiday season, about 14,800 people were treated in emergency rooms due to holiday decorating-related injuries, although no deaths were reported. 
  • Dry Christmas trees and unattended candles can lead to dangerous fires. From 2016 to 2018, there were about 100 Christmas tree fires and about 1,100 candle fires in November and December each year, resulting in 30 deaths, 180 injuries, and nearly $56 million in property loss per year.

Have a Safe Holiday Season and Don’t Hesitate to Call a Florida Personal Injury Lawyer If You’ve Been Injured

It’s the CPSC’s job to collect relevant data. Their hard data shows that the holidays can indeed be dangerous. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an injury during the holidays, contact the Florida personal injury lawyers at Searcy Denney to schedule your free consultation. We’ll handle your insurance and legal claims so you can enjoy the holidays.

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Posted By: Samantha Saundry