Holiday decorations add sparkle and joy to the end of the year, but decorations also cause an estimated 230 injuries per day across the country, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Types of Common Decoration Injuries in Broward County
Some common injuries involving decorations at this time of year include:
- Falls: Hanging your decorations in the first place can be a hazard, with falls from heights being one of the most common injuries. To avoid these injuries, it can be best to leave light displays to the experts or at least to hire an insured professional to hang your lights for you.
- Ingestion injuries and poisoning: Children and pets can become ill if they eat tinsel, ivy, holly, and small décor items. It’s important to hang anything small enough to be swallowed up high and be especially careful of scented décor, which can look like candy to a small child.
Burns and fire injuries: Lit-up displays can be a hazard. Make sure to only leave your lit decorations on when you’re at home and never leave candles unattended. Use cooler LED lights and make sure you use outdoor lights outside, keeping all lights away from curtains and anything flammable. Check your lights and their cables carefully and regularly, replacing your décor if it shows any signs of wear and tear. Check recall lists to make sure your décor items and lights haven’t been recalled. Be aware that dried trees are also a considerable fire risk, so if you have a real tree, be especially careful with the decorative lights and keep a fire extinguisher near your tree. - Lacerations: Cuts from sharp decorations can require stitches, so check your decorations carefully for sharp edges or broken areas which pose a cut risk. Look for shatter-proof ornaments and decorations which won’t break in shards which can cause injury.
- Choking: Small ornaments and parts of decorations can pose a choking risk to children. Make sure to keep small ornaments up high, where children can’t reach, and check all your decorations to make sure small parts can’t break off and cause a risk.
- Tripping: Keep decorations off the floor. Garlands, ribbons, and other items that trail to the floor and trains which go along the floor can pose a trip and fall hazard in your Broward County Home.
- Asphyxiation: If you have children, avoid any dangling decorations, such as garlands, ribbons, and tinsel, which can get wrapped around a child’s neck.
- Toxic products: In past years, some toys and candles have been found to contain lead. Even though we trust products to be safe, sometimes they may contain dangerous chemicals you don’t want in your home. Buy decorations from trusted brands and check what they are made of.
Decorations in retail stores, public space, and homes are there for our enjoyment, but they can be a source of danger, especially to children. If you or your child are injured by decorations, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation with a Broward County personal injury claims attorneys. If your injury was caused by negligence, we can explain whether you have a claim. In cases where your child was injured while visiting Santa in a store, for example, we can examine whether lax security caused your child’s injury. If you qualify, we may be able to pursue a claim to help you recover compensation for medical costs and other expenses related to the injury.