Nobody wants their Thanksgiving to end with a trip to the hospital. Unfortunately, this is the reality for thousands of individuals each year. Prepare for this year’s Thanksgiving holiday with safety in mind to minimize the risk of serious accidents and injuries. Make sure to contact a personal injury lawyer in San Antonio if you’ve been in an accident.
Don’t Decorate Alone
When decorating your home for Thanksgiving, try not to decorate alone. Accidents such as serious ladder falls, fires and electrocutions can occur. Leave your Thanksgiving decorating to a time when someone else is at home to call for help or assist you, if necessary.
Practice Ladder Safety
Preparing for Thanksgiving may require the use of a ladder to get down little-used kitchen equipment, hang decorations or check smoke detectors. Unfortunately, ladder falls are one of the most common holiday-related accidents. Do a quick safety inspection before getting on a ladder. Look for broken or cracked rungs, bent sections, cuts in the material, or rust. Be sure to follow all safety instructions for ladder use.
Check for Slip and Fall Risks
Before inviting friends, family and loved ones to your home this Thanksgiving, check for potential slip or trip and fall injury risks. This is a leading cause of emergency department visits each year, especially among older individuals. Clear walkways of any unnecessary obstacles and try to quickly clean up any spills. Contact a slip and fall accident lawyer in San Antonio for legal guidance.
Prevent Fire Risks
The risk of home fires tends to spike on Thanksgiving Day. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, from 2017 to 2019, an average of 2,300 residential fires were reported on Thanksgiving Day each year. You can reduce your fire risk by never leaving cooking unattended, avoiding the use of real candles and checking your smoke detectors.
Inspect Your Cooking Equipment
If you are using cooking equipment, utensils or electric devices that you don’t normally use in the kitchen for Thanksgiving, be sure to try them out ahead of time. Little-used equipment may malfunction or need to be replaced for safety reasons. A product liability in San Antonio is here for you.
Keep Kids Out of the Kitchen
A bustling Thanksgiving-day kitchen is no place for small children. Kids in the kitchen are at risk of injuries from knives, hot objects and liquids, electrical equipment, and falling objects. Put up a baby gate or make the kitchen a child-free zone for the day.
Beware of Deep-Frying Your Turkey
Deep-frying a turkey may be trendy, but it is also a major cause of injuries and even deaths on Thanksgiving. Frozen turkeys can explode when they hit hot fryer oil, or the deep fryer could tip over and cause a fire. For safety reasons, it is best to avoid this turkey-cooking technique. If you wish to proceed, do your research and make safety a top priority.
Handle and Store Food Properly
Prevent food poisoning among your guests with proper food handling and storage techniques. Avoid cross-contamination between raw turkey or meat and other foods by changing utensils and cutting boards. Wash your hands with warm soap and water regularly. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking.
Forgo the Fireworks
Many families celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with fireworks at the end of the night. What families don’t realize is that fireworks come with a high risk of injuries, including burns and finger amputations. Opt for a safer way to celebrate, such as confetti or noisemakers.
Don’t Drink and Drive
Every year, a large number of drunk driving car accidents occur on and around the Thanksgiving holiday. From 2019 to 2023, fatal drunk driving accidents during Thanksgiving festivities represented more than one-third of all traffic deaths (868 deaths) in that period. If you plan on drinking any alcohol to celebrate Thanksgiving, plan for a sober ride home or to spend the night.