Holiday accident injury is preventable. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has good suggestions for safe holiday decorating to help prevent holiday accident injury. Unbelievably there were 12 deaths and 14,500 injuries requiring an emergency room visit during last year’s 2 month holiday season. The suggestions to help prevent holiday accident injuries are good to take note of.
Use caution with sharp, weighted, or breakable decorations. Lacerations were among the top reported injuries caused by decorations last year.
Avoid using decorations and trims that resemble food or candy. Small children can choke or swallow small items they are attracted too.
Small decorations and those with removable parts should be placed high out of a child’s reach.
Only use light sets that are marked by a safety testing laboratory. Some cheap light sets are not well made and are often less safe.
Always examine old & new light sets for any damage and throw away any that have cracked or broken sockets, frayed or exposed wires, and loose connections. Last year holiday lights caused fires that resulted in 10 deaths.
Be very careful where you place burning candles. Keep them away from anything that can catch fire, out of reach of kids & pets and never leave them unattended. Approximately 65,000 fires were started by candles between 2010 & 2012 and resulted in 80 deaths and 650 injuries.
Buy an artificial tree that is labeled fire resistant and make sure your live tree is fresh. A fresh tree has more moisture in it making it more resistant to catching fire.
Keep your live tree well-watered and away from heat sources. Evergreen trees are flammable and can catch fire.
Be cautious using ladders. Data indicates that 36% of holiday decorating accidents involve falls and half of those falls occur from ladders.
For more safety tips you can view a holiday safety decorating tips brochure at CPSC online.
Dangerous Scented Jar Candles Causing Holiday Accident Injury
In November the CPSC issued a recall on 18 ounce scented glass jar candles with lids. Scented candles are popular to burn during the holidays. They were sold under the brand names Living Colors Candles, Everyday Reflections, True Living, and Everyday Home. These candles were sold at Big Lots, Dollar General and Family Dollar stores between February 2015 and November 2015 for about $5.
The glass lids on some of the jars was breaking while being opened causing lacerations. To date there have been 16 incidents resulting in laceration injuries, some requiring medical attention, one requiring stitches.
Although we may follow precautions during the holiday season sometimes injury can happen because of a dangerous or defective product that is unexpected. If you or a family member has been the victim of a holiday accident injury by a defective product you may have recourse to recover damages from the manufacturer and/or the retailer. You should always check with a personal injury attorney to learn if you have a valid claim and what your rights are.
Product Liability Attorney Joel Baskin
Contact personal injury attorney Joel Baskin if you have been injured by a defective product. Joel offers a free initial consultation so you can be advised about your legal rights and the strength of your accident injury claim.
Joel has two convenient offices in East Point and Vinings and has been serving the Atlanta area for over two decades. Call today.