Avoid Personal Injury During The Holiday Season
If you watch any medical dramas or crime investigations on prime time, you may notice some tropes in their holiday-themed episodes. Tragic and sometimes comedic injuries are a-plenty in these fictional emergency rooms. Avoiding a personal injury during the holiday season is possible, it just takes certain precautions.
Anyone who works the front-lines in real life will tell you stories about all kinds of accidents revolving around the holiday season. For some reason or another, there always seems to be an uptick in accidents and injuries as the holiday madness sets in.
The good news is there are things you can do to be mindful and prevent personal injury when you should be unwrapping presents and sipping hot cocoa.
Putting Up And Taking Down The Decorations
Maybe you are comfortable with a ladder. You might be the only person in your home willing to climb up on the roof to hang lights around the trim.
Even if you have used a ladder a hundred times and never experienced a problem, you must take safety seriously every time. All it takes is one wrong move, one wobble of the ladder, to ruin your Christmas.
Whenever heights are involved, be mindful of your surroundings. If you are using a ladder, do it with a buddy. Have them keep the ladder steady as you climb and to spot you. Make sure to only set the ladder on a level surface and is fully extended and locked. And don’t overreach just to save you a trip down the ladder to move it closer.
The same advice goes for using ladders indoors or a “stable” chair to reach something a little high. All it takes is one slip … any fall could result in an injury.
Whether you are hanging up the lights the day after Thanksgiving or finally taking down the decorations in the middle of January, always follow safety precautions so you can get back to relaxing with your family.
Be Mindful Of Fires
If your family loves to put up a genuine Christmas tree, be aware of how dry it may be, especially if it has been in your home for a while. Dried-out trees, faulty or damaged lights, and innocently placed candles are all potential hazards for an unwanted fire.
Keep flames away from anything flammable (which a lot of decorations can be). Replace any old lights and unplug them at night or when you’re not at home. And, extinguish any unattended flames.
Too Much Eggnog
The holidays can be a good excuse to consume a little more alcohol than you normally do. And, while it may be in good fun and cheer, don’t do it. Don’t participate in any activities that can lead to an accident while drinking. Climbing up on that ladder is not the best idea if you have already started on the eggnog. Even a buddy system can fail, especially if you’ve all had too much eggnog.
The holidays are a time when there are upticks in DUIs. And while you may not get behind the wheel, someone else may not have the same discipline you have. Remember, there are other drivers on the road and they may be drunk.
No one thinks they are going to have an accident decorating the Christmas tree or driving home from shopping. You already have enough on your holiday plate, don’t add personal injury to it. But if one does occur, be sure to contact a trusted law firm, like Tim Fleming Law, to help you get taken care of. The holidays should be fun, don’t let bad decisions affect you. However, if they do, we are here to help.
