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Thanksgiving Household Accidents and Liability

Did your Thanksgiving holiday go terribly awry? Thanksgiving household accidents happen every year and it’s one of the busiest days of the year for emergency rooms. It’s a combination of people having a good time, drinking, and generally not paying attention to the somewhat dangerous activities. Inherently slicing a turkey isn’t dangerous, but if you’re not looking at the bird and paying attention to everything else then it’s no surprise that someone loses a finger.

However many Thanksgiving household accidents were completely unavoidable by the person who was injured. Slip and falls, electrocution, and fire-related accidents often come up during the Thanksgiving weekend. In these cases, the injuries are often traced back to property maintenance. If you were renting or visiting a friend at their home then it is likely that the property maintenance resulted in the injury more than distraction did.

Slip or Trip and Falls

If you’re inviting guests over to your home, then make sure that you take the opportunity to secure down rugs and runners. You certainly don’t want someone falling in your home and suing you for liability. This is one of those Thanksgiving household accidents you can easily avoid.

This is something that most people don’t consider when they have guests over. Now, if you fell in another person’s home you may have experienced broken bones or extreme strains that can keep you away from work.

Slipping and falling or tripping and falling are among the most common household injuries and can result in bone fractures, skull fracture, head trauma, and a variety of soft tissue injuries. It’s important that you immediately assess the reason why you felt so that the homeowner can take decisive action to prevent this accident from happening again in the future.

Cutting and Slicing Injuries

The best advice possible for handling cooking injuries resulting from Thanksgiving household accidents is to only focus on the task at hand. Slicing and cutting are delicate procedures even in the kitchen. When peeling potatoes are vegetables, just as when carving a turkey your eyes should always be on the blade and where it’s going. Most Thanksgiving household accidents occur because the knife is dull or that the cutting board was not secured on a non-skid pad.

If you have sustained a cutting or slicing injury then be sure to contact 911. Not every flesh round requires the same treatment or attention. For example, if you slice your hand then a 911 operator might suggest that you elevate the hand over the heart to slow the bleeding. You may receive different instructions if you’ve received a gash on your head or cut your foot. Make sure that you get the emergency department on the phone immediately for proper instructions and emergency help.

Fire-Related Thanksgiving Household Accidents

To prevent fire-related accidents ensure that you’re using all the equipment and materials properly. If you are frying, don’t leave food unattended. If you are frying a turkey make sure that you’re doing so outside in an area that is not likely to spread fire.

Ensure that you keep the stove area clear from items that are likely to catch fire such as paper towels, hand towels, and potholders. Also, avoid wearing loose clothing.

Always treat burn injury immediately. But even when treated immediately a burn will likely need a long duration of time for recovery. These injuries are often catastrophic. Burn treatment may involve surgery, rehabilitative therapy, and plenty of time spent away from work.

Understanding Liability

In 2016 over 36,000 people in the US went to the ER for Holiday related injuries. Those injuries involved a fractured shoulder from hanging Holiday lights to a plastic fork stuck in a person’s esophagus. The majority of these injuries do have someone liable for the damages.

Take Action to Recover Your Damages with a Cincinnati Accident Attorney

We know it’s unfortunate that you spent the good part of your holiday in the hospital. But, the worst news often comes after when you receive hospital bills. Even if you have good insurance it’s likely that you weren’t anticipating paying for a trip to the emergency room because of Thanksgiving holiday accidents. If you had catastrophic injuries such as severe burns or electrocution then your medical bills may be astronomical.

If your injuries happened in another person’s home, or as the result of poor property maintenance then it’s possible that some homeowner’s liability coverage could kick in.  Your friend or landlord might not appreciate the legal action that you need to take to recover damages, but often it’s not them that end up paying the homeowner’s insurance policy. Learn more about what financial recovery might mean in your case by contacting Young, Reverman, and Mazzei.

Jay A. Bolotin is a partner at the injury law firm of Young, Reverman & Bolotin. Serving the people of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, Jay dedicates his career to helping clients in the tri-state area obtain financial compensation after suffering serious injuries. He focuses his practice on cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, dog bites and animal attacks, and other types of personal injury incidents.

Years of Experience: More than 25 years
Registration Status:: Active
Bar Admissions: Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Cincinati Bar Association