Safety: The Ultimate Stocking Stuffer
While holidays are supposed to be a time for merriment and long-awaited gatherings with friends and family, common oversights inevitably will lead to serious safety hazards.
According to the personal injury lawyers at the Ochs Law Firm, what many families may not realize is just how hazardous Christmas and the lead-up to it can be in terms of personal injury.
On December 5, the Consumer Product Safety Commission came out with a report called Deck the Halls Safely, and it provides an eye-opening look at some of the dangers that crop up in November and December. In 2012 alone during this time there were over 15,000 reported injuries — the fourth year that injury levels have actually increased.
The Ochs Law Firm has seen the fallout of these hazards firsthand. The holidays often see a string of incidents that lead people to seek legal help, but Jason Ochs hopes that such disasters can be avoided in the first place this Christmas season.
The firm has compiled a list of holiday-themed safety tips that you can pass along to your tenants:
Youll Shoot Your Eye Out With That Thing- Toy safety should be a primary concern on Christmas. Small parts, projectiles, lasers, loud noises, and sharp edges are just some of the things that parents must take into consideration when picking out toys for their children.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving You Trouble- In the rush to open a gift, persons may accidentally endanger themselves by tearing apart a piece of jagged plastic or using a pair of scissors to cut through cardboard. Adults should be available to supervise gift opening among children. That will also mean making sure that wrapping paper gets placed in the trash rather than the fireplace.
Every Time A Horn Honks, An Auto Gets A Ding– Cold weather means dangerous driving conditions, especially in a state like Wyoming where blizzards are the norm. When traveling any sort of distance for the holidays, check up on weather patterns prior to heading out and leave plenty of time to get to the destination. That way, there wont be a temptation to engage in dangerous maneuvers that can cause sliding on icy roads.
Dreaming Of Alight Christmas– Be cognizant of the many, many fire hazards that exist during the holidays. By the time Christmas rolls around, most trees are more brittle than the candy canes stuffed into stockings over the hearth, and theyre even more of a fire threat than those same stockings. Cigarettes, candles, space heaters: all need to be kept far away from Christmas trees or anything else that can cause a home to go up in flames if set ablaze.
Thought For Food- The fruitcake may be the least of your worries when trying to keep people from getting sick. A food thermometer should be used to verify that a given dish is done, and at no point should the same utensils used to prepare raw meat items be used for things like dips and slaws.
Christmas Slip and Fall Risks Are All Around- When you feel the cold in your fingers and feel it in your toes, a slip and fall is just waiting to happen. Persons who invite guests into their homes owe it to those guests to clear ice from all walking paths and remove from within the home any clutter that could cause someone to fall and suffer an injury.
The Ochs Law Firm is an award-winning practice with offices in Wyoming, California, and Colorado. For more information, visit their website at http://www.ochslawfirm.com/.
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