Christmas is the happiest time of the year, with people coming from far away to spend time with family and friends to celebrate the festive holiday. However, in all the fun and laughter it is important to be cautious of injuries that could occur during the holiday season. Each year, approximately 14,000 people are injured due to some type of Christmas-related accident. Below are some of the top injuries that occur around Christmas.

Electric Shocks

Although Christmas lights are lovely and beautiful to look at, they can be very dangerous. They can cause severe shocks to people when they are putting up or taking down the Christmas lights. The chances of shock increase, even more, when putting lights outside because they or the outlet could get wet or be covered by snow.

Cuts and Lacerations

Lacerations often occur from touching broken tree ornaments during the decorating process. Cuts can happen from chainsaws when you are cutting down the tree that you plan to decorate or if you need to reshape the tree.

Falls

Falls are also common around Christmas time for people when they are decorating their houses and Christmas. When decorating the outside of the house, people use ladders or chairs to reach higher places, but if the ladder or chair is not been properly balanced then people increase their risk of falling down and hurting themselves and possibly needing to go to the hospital because of the fall.

Smoke Inhalation and Burns

Burns can happen in several ways around the holiday season. You could get burnt from electric shocks from the Christmas lights. 

You may not have been aware that a living Christmas tree needs maintenance, otherwise it could dry out and result in catching fire from the lights that are on the tree. Around this time, people are using candles more and that could increase the risk of a fire if the candle is left unattended for too long. Along with all of this, people tend to do a lot of cooking around the Christmas holidays. If the cooking is not properly attended to then that chance of a kitchen fire increases. Smoke inhalation and burns from these fires can lead to emergency room visits.

Traffic Accidents

With everyone ready for the holidays and celebrating with friends and family, there are likely to be more people on the road. Between the increased number of drivers on the road and poor weather conditions of winter, accidents have a good chance of happening.

While Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, without proper safety precautions the merriment can easily lead to worry and a hospital visit. All of the injuries listed can be mitigated by exercising some safety precautions.

At the Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC, we hope that you have a safe and wonderful holiday season. However, if you or a loved one are injured during the Christmas season and suspect it is due to the negligent action of another, contact a personal injury lawyer for a consultation.

Negligence is a factor that often plays into personal injury cases. In fact, you can usually only make a personal injury claim with another person’s insurance if you can prove that they were responsible for the accident that created your injury. This can be for a car accident, slips on someone’s property, medical malpractice, or even dog bites. In all of these cases, someone can be held liable for your injuries. Here’s how the liable party plays into your personal injury case.

Negligence

You have a better chance of receiving compensation from your personal injury claim if the other person was negligent in causing your accident. Negligence means that someone acted recklessly or without regard to the safety of others, and their actions directly caused the accident, making them responsible for your injuries. You can prove negligence through your own statement to police, statements from witnesses, medical reports, and photos of the accident scene.

Insurance Coverage 

Before you start the claims process, you need to make sure that the negligent person actually has insurance that can cover your expenses. It won’t do you much good if you win the case but you can’t get compensated because there’s nowhere to get the money from. Filing a lawsuit against someone who doesn’t have insurance can be a challenging situation that might waste more of your time than it’s worth, especially if you can, instead, get compensated from your own insurance.

Punishments 

Since they are already facing consequences in raised insurance premiums, the negligent party is usually not punished at the end of your case. However, a jury or judge may decide that extra punishment is necessary, and this comes in the form of punitive damages. These are damages the judge orders the plaintiff to make on top of the compensation given by insurance to the victim. Punitive damages are intended to discourage the plaintiff and others from acting in the same reckless manner again.

Lawyers

Even the most basic personal injury claims can take up a significant amount of time and effort. It’s important to determine if a claim or lawsuit is in your best interest before diving into it. Talking to a lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer from Hickey & Turim, can help you make that call. Lawyers who are practiced in personal injury can tell you the likely outcome of your case, how much money it is worth, if negligence can be proved, and how much time the case will take. All of these factors may impact your decision to pursue a claim.

We have all heard the phrase “with great risks comes great reward”, in this case with great reward comes great risk. Being out on the open water is such a fun activity that very few people are able to enjoy, but so many people love. The fun and excitement that comes with boat riding also introduces danger and potential harm to those that love the sports and activities. The risks are sometimes even more dangerous that those of airplanes and usual motor vehicle travel. Boating accidents are very common on the water and can lead to great injury and sometimes death. Boating is usually seen as fun and recreational activities, so it is very easy to let your hair down and be carefree. However, this freedom can put your safety at risk and harm you or your loved one. This is as the captain, or a passenger. Fortunately, there are laws in place to protect injured individuals even in boating accidents, and it is good to educate yourself on what your legal options are.

Much like any other accident, boating accident injuries can influence several medical bills once medical treatment is sought out. These injuries can create a domino effect in financial burdens, as well as emotional and mental burdens. These new burdens can weigh heavily on the household of an injured party, therefore it is important to speak with a skilled personal injury attorney about seeking compensation for any damages caused due to a boating accident.

There are several factors that made lead to boating accidents on the water, once you are aware of what they are it is easier (not fully ensured) to avoid them. By knowing what caused the accident you can narrow down who the at-fault party is and who to pursue in the event of a personal injury claim. Common elements that lead to boating accidents or injuries include:

• Speeding over waves
• Terrible or poor weather conditions
• Speeding in general
• Improper equipment or a lack of proper equipment
• Crashing into other objects
• Disregarding boating regulations
• Overloading the boat

Much like any other accident, these situations can be avoided if everything is handled properly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and harm, or injury is caused. Should you or someone you know be a victim of a boating injury due to the negligence of another involved party, be sure to speak with a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, GA as soon as possible.

Thanks to Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into personal injury claims and boating accidents.