Top Causes of Holiday ER Visits
From Christmas through New Year’s, an average of 6,000+ people are treated in the ER for holiday-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. USA Today recently reviewed data to determine the top reasons for these holiday ER visits.
Reporters looked at five years of data, from 2017-2021, from 100 emergency rooms across the U.S. during the last week of December. The top ER injuries were lacerations, fractures, internal injury, and contusions/abrasions. Body parts most frequently hurt were the head, face, fingers, lower trunk, and upper trunk.
Sadly, holiday presents often play a role. Hoverboards, powered skateboards, and scooters – popular gifts for children – caused 12 injuries a day on average from Christmas to New Year’s. That’s six times the number of injuries earlier in the month. Hoverboards were associated with falls, fires, bruises, neck fractures, displaced shoulders, dislocated elbows, and strained wrists. At least 23 hoverboard recalls have been issued within the last six years due to the danger of risk or injury. Most were recalled for their lithium-ion batteries overheating, with the potential to catch fire and explode.
People also sought treatment in the ER for injuries caused by toy guns with projectiles, quad bikes, slicers, choppers and knives, candles, and fishing equipment.
While human error can sometimes play a role in injury, often the product itself is at fault: missing or incomplete instructions, a lack of informed warning messages, an error in manufacturing or an outright malfunction.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a product that you believe is faulty, contact a top Philadelphia product liability attorney to discuss the legal options available to you.