The holiday season brings many opportunities for creating special memories and for following family traditions. Before this holiday is fully upon us, however, it’s time to think safety. Holiday decorations and plans bring with them their own risks, and you can reduce those risks by planning ahead:
- Secure your pool area: Premises liability claims arise if a child or an adult is drowned or injured in a pool which is not correctly secured. If you will be leaving your home this holiday or if you will be having guests, make sure your pool is securely locked, ideally with a self-locking gate. An alarm system which lets you know if anyone is in the pool area offers extra protection as well.
- Make sure you allow for proper supervision of children: If any children will be visiting your home, make sure at least two adults are supervising them at all times.
- Serve alcohol responsibly: Have a plan to serve alcohol early and to stop serving it well ahead your holiday festivities end. Have alternative non-alcoholic drinks on hand and have a plan to get any guests home safely if they have been drinking
- Check your power cords: If you have any lights or decorations requiring electricity, check the cords for fraying or damage. Do not overload outlets with too many extension cords and make sure cords don’t run under rugs or anywhere where they pose a tripping hazard.
- Check your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers: This is a good time of year to check to make sure your smoke detectors are working correctly and your fire extinguishers are in place and ready. If you have disposable fire extinguisher, you need to replace them by the date printed on the label. If you have rechargeable fire extinguishers, you need to have them recharged by a qualified fire equipment company every decade or so.
- Exchange traditional light-up decorations with LED ones: Traditional lights and decorations with lights can become hot enough to start a fire. Look for options which stay cool and never use candles as part of your decoration. It’s simply too difficult to supervise the candles every minute they stay lit.
- Do a walk-through: After your home is decorated and before you start your holiday festivities, walk through your home, looking for any hazards. Are any decorations in poor condition or have sharp or detachable parts? Are any decorations too close to the stove or other heat source? Do your decorations impede safely walking through your home? Is anything creating debris or other dangers which can cause a slip and fall or trip and fall hazard? Make sure everything looks great and is safe for the holiday season! If anything needs repairs or adjusting, take care of it promptly.
If you are injured in someone’s home or in a public place due to holiday decorations or because of poor maintenance, you may have a Contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation with a premises liability attorney in Hallandale Beach.