It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Who knew Christmas could also be so perilous? Did you never wonder how those who desperately want their two front teeth for Christmas, may have lost them in the first place?
Not to sound like a Grinch but with more than 80,000 people a year needing hospital treatment for injuries such as falls, cuts and burns during the festive period - I'm urging you to take just a little more care over the next couple of weeks!
Here, in no particular order, is our Christmas Personal Injury Top 10:
1)“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”
According to More Than insurance, the number of homes damaged by fire rises by 300% on Christmas Day – most starting from mishaps with candles or malfunctioning ovens.
2) “Deck the Halls”
We all like our homes to have that festive feel but sometimes don’t go about it in the most sensible of ways, especially after a mulled wine or two! The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) estimate around 1,000 people a year are hurt while decorating their homes, including children biting into glass baubles and adults falling after balancing on chairs or clambering over furniture to hang tinsel, paper chains and mistletoe.
3) “O Christmas Tree” OR ” Rockin Around the Christmas Tree”:
Christmas trees are also responsible for a fair few disasters, usually while fixing fairies, lights or other decorations to the higher branches. A spokeswoman for Axa said they dealt with numerous personal injury claims each year for furniture damaged by fallen or “carelessly handled” trees.
4) “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” - Fairy Lights:
Twinkly & pretty they may be, but around 350 people a year are hurt in a fairy light related accident, according to RoSPA. Personal injuries include people falling while they're putting them up, children swallowing the bulbs, and people getting electric shocks and burns from them.
5) “White Christmas” OR/ “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow”
Winter is a notoriously dangerous time to drive, with shorter days, longer and darker evenings and far more hazardous weather conditions such as fog, black ice and snow. Christmas in particular sees an increase of cars on the roads with people travelling to visit friends and family in weather that, perhaps at any other time of the year, they wouldn’t venture out in. (Be prepared this winter and read our previous post).
6) “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and he’s Bringing Defective Toys!
Ensure you buy toys that meet European standards and display a CE marking. Some shops have been known to sell substandard products at this time of year labelling them as “bargains” (Santa’s elves wouldn’t be happy), despite the possibility of facing a £5,000 product liability claim or even a prison sentence.
Apart from faulty toys, other typical Christmas Day accidents include parents accidentally stabbing themselves with scissors while putting in batteries (so have a screwdriver handy) and cutting themselves with knives when opening presents too quickly.
7) “Winter Wonderland”
Many people, families especially, like a visit to the local ice-skating rink to drink hot chocolate, glide around the ice and generally get into the festive spirit. However make sure you choose a reputable rink; poorly maintained boots, over-crowding and irregular resurfacing of the ice can all contribute to the possibility of an accident and personal injury.
8) “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”
Apart from the obvious risks to your health that over indulgence in alcohol can lead to, it also reduces your risk awareness making you more prone to accidents. And of course we all know never to drink and drive, no matter how short the distance.
9) “Last Christmas”...
...You gave me food poisoning! It takes hours to cook a turkey properly, undercooked turkey can lead to salmonella poisoning. And it’s not just undercooked turkeys you need to look out for, one grandmother tripped while carrying the roast turkey to the table and sent the bird flying across the room (or perhaps it was making a last bid for freedom). You also need to watch out for exploding Christmas puddings (all genuine reasons given for insurance and personal injury claims).
10) “I saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus”
Was it Santa, was it Daddy or was it a mistletoe induced hallucination? Yes, mistletoe is poisonous, its berries contain toxic proteins that slow the heart rate and can cause hallucinations. Also the orange berries of the Christmas cherry can cause stomach pains and the Christmas rose is so effective at causing diarrhoea that it was used as a chemical weapon by the ancient Greeks! Why we choose these plants to decorate our house with is a tradition I’ll never understand.
And so we come to the end of our top 10, but as regular readers of our blog will know I always like to give a little extra and so, in at number 11 -
11) “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”
Watch out if you’ve out and about on Christmas eve after too many eggnogs, after all “They should never give a license, To a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves”
All we want for Christmas is for you to have “a Christmas to remember”, for all the right reasons. We hope you “have yourself a merry little Christmas”.
I’m all Christmas songed out but perhaps you would you have named these differently, or included some that we missed out, please feel free to add yours to comments below – you never know we might even tweet them.
We Can Help
If you feel you have a personal injury claim as a result of a Christmas related incident, you could “go tell it on the mountain” or you could come and speak to us. Our friendly elves specialist advisors can talk to you about your situation and see if you have a valid claim. There is no charge for this service and you are under no obligation to claim with us.
If You Have a Genuine Claim, Contact a Genuine Company
May I Claim, is a trading name of R Costings Limited and our CRM number is 25770
If you’ve had an accident that wasn’t your fault and suffered an injury - you can trust us to handle your claim professionally.
Call us now on 0800 756 7774 and talk to us to find out if you have a claim - or fill in our Quick Claim form (on the right of this page).
http://info.mayiclaim.co.uk/personal_injury_compensation_claim_news/bid/328416/Christmas-Food-for-Thought-Our-Seasonal-Personal-Injury-Top-10
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