Common Christmas Injuries in the Home
During the festive season, the home is full of family members and other guests, and in the excitement of it all, accidents can easily happen.
UK hospitals will have seen over 80,000 injuries as a result of falls, burns and cuts over the Christmas week alone. However there are also plenty of other bizarre accidents that occur on Christmas day as a result of dangerous mix of excitement, tiredness, stress and alcohol. Below are the three scenarios which regularly result in unusual accidents during the festive period.
* Preparing Christmas Lunch
A typical Christmas day will see many eager children and adults excitedly opening their presents, however it appears tricky packaging and an overload of tape are in fact serious potential hazards. Hundreds of people accidently stab themselves with scissors every year while attempting to cut through hard plastic or cardboard. The stress and anger caused by awkward packaging has led to some professionals coining the term “wrap rage”, after a British study found that difficult packaging will put 60,000 people in A&E each year due to cuts, sprains and muscle strains.
Once you’ve opened the present it appears that the potential for accidents doesn’t end there. Fifty eight people were injured last year using knives and scissors instead of a screwdriver to assemble their gifts, while five people were also reported to be involved in an accident involving out-of-control Scalextric cars.
For many of us the careful, impenetrable packaging around the Christmas presents we receive drives us insane. In fact, the stress caused by being unable to open presents has led to professionals coining the term “wrap rage”. Hundreds of us manage to stab ourselves over Christmas as a result of using a knife or scissors to open our presents and a British report in 2008 found an average 60,000 people ended up in hospital due to cuts, sprains and muscle strains caused while opening presents.
* Beware of your Christmas Tree
* The Christmas Meal
The people in these selected examples may be to blame for their own injuries and could therefore be ineligible to claim compensation for their injuries. However, if you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault over Christmas, it’s important to seek advice from a solicitor on what to do next.
However, if you were involved in an accident during the holiday season which wasn’t your fault, it’s important to speak to a solicitor for legal advice.