If you’re getting your home ready for the holidays with decorations, lights, and other items, you’ll want to do so safely. Here’s how to bring cheer into your home while reducing your risk of injuries, including fractures, lacerations, and other injuries.
- Check wires and bulbs. Never use decorations, especially anything with electricity, if it is worn or broken. These can be a fire hazard.
- Look for sharp edges. Look closely for sharp edges. Over time, some decorative items can get broken, revealing a sharp edge that can easily cause cuts.
- Use extra caution with older decorations. Decorations can be part of family tradition. You may have items that have been passed down, maybe even from generation to generation. Some of these decorative items, though, may have been made before our modern understanding of safety. Some may overheat or be unsafe. If you have antique decorations, for example, check for lead paint. Check all decorations against a current recall list to make sure they haven’t been found to be unsafe.
- Secure decorations. Never place large, heavy decoration up high. They can cause head injuries if they fall. For the same reason, properly secure any heavy or larger decorations so they can’t fall on anyone.
- Switch to low-heat LED lights. Candles and even older bulbs can cause fires, but fortunately today we can replace many of these items with cooler LED lights and flameless candles.
- Be fire safe. Check your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors as well as your fire extinguisher. Practice your fire safety drill with anyone who lives in your household. If you’re using any lights or decorations that have to be plugged in, don’t use extension cords that drag under rugs or that overburden an electrical outlet.
- Keep items off the floor. Look out for draping decorations and garlands that can cause people to trip and fall. Try to keep items off the floor. If you have a live Christmas tree, sweep often. Dropped pine needles tend to be slippery.
- Reduce obstacles outside. If you have decorations outside, make sure the lights aren’t so bright or the décor so large that it could pose a danger to passing motorists. Keep walkways clear of decorations and well-lit to prevent trip and fall accidents.
- Use caution if you have child or pet visitors. If you have pets or children or may have some in your home over the holidays, you’ll need to take extra precautions. Make sure that food items and any decorations are up high and well out of reach. Things like tinsel can easily be swallowed by small children or pets, and can be dangerous. Check your decorations for any small parts that can detach and be a hazard.
If you or a loved one suffer a serious injury due to a dangerous decorative product or holiday product, you may have a claim against the manufacturer. If you’re injured at a public holiday event, you may also have a claim. If you’re injured, call Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 anytime or contact us online to schedule a free, no obligation case consultation to find out more.