Across the United States, even as COVID-19 cases continue to soar, many people are making plans for the Thanksgiving holiday. While medical experts focus their attention on informing the public how to avoid contracting the virus over the holiday season, there are a few common personal injuries that you should be aware of as well.
While ensuring not to contract COVID-19 over the Thanksgiving holiday should be the top priority for everyone, there are personal injuries in the days before, during, and after that could also severely impact your health. These common personal injuries known to occur during this time of the year are:
Car Accidents
The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for travelers. According to the data, each year there are more than 400 fatalities due to Thanksgiving holiday accidents. This number does not include the thousands of additional drivers and passengers that sustain serious injury.
Reduce your risks of a car accident over Thanksgiving by obeying speed limits, avoiding aggressive driving behaviors (ie. tailgating), and staying focused on the roads you are traveling.
Studies have shown that when it comes to drinking and driving, the night before Thanksgiving has become even more deadly than New Year’s Eve. Be aware that even a single alcoholic beverage can impair your driving ability, so if you plan on drinking over the extended holiday weekend, be sure to have arrangements made for getting home.
Burn Injuries
Thanksgiving gatherings are centered around the preparation and enjoying a wide variety of festive foods. This means that there will definitely be an extensive amount of time spent in the kitchen, around the stove. Be aware of the risks of house fires and contact burns.
Here are a few recommendations to protect yourself, and family from suffering an unnecessary burn injury:
- Limit the number of people in and around the kitchen area
- Avoid wearing long, loose-fitting, or flowing clothing while cooking
- Keep all pot and pan handles facing inward
- Take particular caution if frying a turkey; this should only be done outside
- Keep curtains, dishcloths, and any other flammable items away from hot surfaces
- Extinguish all candles and indoor or outdoor fires before heading to bed
Slip and Fall Injuries
Slip and Fall injuries can occur anywhere at any time. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, these accidents can occur while visiting others’ homes due to uneven floor surfaces, poor lighting, clutter, wet flooring, poor housekeeping, and even untidy landscaping.
The busiest time of the year for most grocery stores is the period of time just before Thanksgiving, and most retail store locations experience a frenzy of large crowds for Black Friday shopping. This type of injury is already common in stores, but increased foot traffic and overzealous shoppers make it much more likely that someone will get injured.
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, whether out shopping or visiting someone’s home, be sure to seek medical attention for your injuries right away.
Getting Struck by or Against Objects
The day after Thanksgiving is the largest retail shopping day of the year, and typically draws hordes of people into store locations. The aggressive shopping, fighting for the best deals, has been known to get extremely hectic.Some situations to be aware of, which can cause serious personal injury, include:
- People jostling against each other in the isles
- Improperly stocked shelves
- Loose product fixtures and broken pallets
- Equipment used in bringing out more product
Be sure to report any incidents onside with security and the store’s management immediately. If possible, take photographs of the area where the accident occurred and do not wait to seek medical attention.
How can Kwartler Manus Help?
It’s important that you are aware of these common Thanksgiving holiday personal injuries so that you can avoid them and spend your time with loved ones. When accidents and injuries do occur, we are always here for you and available to help! If you’ve been injured this Thanksgiving due to another person’s carelessness or the negligence of a business, contact our experienced team of personal injury attorneys online or by phone at (267) 457-5570.