The holidays are certainly supposed to be a fun and festive time, but that can all be ruined very quickly if you suffer a serious injury. You end up spending the holidays in the hospital, you have high medical bills, you’re losing wages at work during a time when you really need them to buy Christmas presents and much more.
As such, it’s very important to understand how injuries over the holidays tend to happen, what you can do to avoid them, and what steps to take if you are hurt. Below are a few examples of these injuries that tend to crop up every season.
Increased traffic levels
One thing to consider is that many people get involved in car accidents during the holiday, season, in part, because there may be increased traffic levels in town. Over the holidays, you have a lot of tourists and people traveling to visit family. Even in the weeks leading up to Christmas, you have a lot of drivers searching for last minute presents or going to festive gatherings. Higher traffic levels, along with drinking that is common over the holidays, means accidents are likely.
Injuries at the mall
If you’re going to go shopping at the mall, you could also be hurt while doing so. Some people experience a slip-and-fall accident, for instance, if a tile floor gets wet and is not cleaned up properly. Others will trip over decorations that have been hung up or other things they may not expect. Plus, whenever you’re shopping at the mall around the holidays, it’s going to be a bit busier and more chaotic than it would normally.
Electrical shocks
Since holiday decorating involves Christmas lights and other such items, there’s a chance you could be shocked if these have not been hooked up properly. For instance, perhaps your boss decorated the office, but they plugged too many items into the same outlet, and it caused a power surge. Or maybe the extension cords that were used have broken gaps in the insulation and the wires are exposed.
Regardless of how you’ve been injured this year, be sure you know what legal options you have after the fact.
