American Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Along with the turkey, stuffing and family togetherness comes an increased risk of personal injury. As you can imagine, all the traveling means that there’s an elevated risk of car accidents (including drunk driving accidents), but that’s not the only danger to watch out for.
Read over these common Thanksgiving weekend personal injuries and do your best to avoid them. If you are hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence or recklessness, make sure to call a personal injury attorney right away.
Vehicle Accidents
Unsurprisingly, car accidents are one of the biggest causes of injury and fatalities. Drunk driving is a major factor. Binge drinking goes up 33 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Drunk driving accidents make up 35 percent of all car accidents during Thanksgiving weekend.
Driving a car has a much higher fatality rate than other forms of transportation, such as buses, planes and trains. If you will be driving over the weekend, take care to obey all traffic laws and keep an eye out for erratic driving behavior.
Most importantly, make sure that you and any guests have a designated driver if you drink alcohol. Even short car rides can turn fatal—it’s not worth risking your life.
House Fires and Cooking Accidents
Is something burning? When you’re on kitchen duty, it’s important that you stay alert and awake during the entire cooking process. About 45 percent of all house fires are due to cooking accidents, and Thanksgiving is the year’s peak day for cooking-related fires.
Whether you fall asleep with the oven and stove running or you didn’t prepare properly for that deep-fried turkey adventure, house fires kill thousands of people every year. Don’t become a statistic. Have fire prevention and extinguishing tools at the ready, even if you’re a Michelin-restaurant-trained chef.
Football Injuries
Surprisingly, football injuries are another leading cause of Thanksgiving injuries—and we’re not talking about any fights that might break out while watching the Lions vs. the Bears. In 2017 alone, around 1,400 emergency room visits stemmed from family football games. If your family takes to the backyard after the turkey, take appropriate safety precautions. Avoid wet, slippery grass or concrete, and save the tackle football for the NFL.
With a little extra care, you and your family can avoid Thanksgiving injuries—and steer clear of the Black Friday brawls, too.
Talk to an Ohio Personal Injury Lawyer Today
When you’re injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call me today at 877.944.4373 for a consultation. We hope you’ll stay safe over Thanksgiving weekend, but if an accident happens, we’ll help you get the compensation you deserve.