FOCUS ON THE JOY THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAY SEASON – BUT STAY ALERT FOR POSSIBLE HAZARDS.

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Holiday Harm?

From Halloween to Hanukkah, the holiday season can bring horrors to hinder your happenings. Have a happy and healthy holiday season by avoiding these mishaps!

Halloween Horrors?For children and adults alike, Halloween can scream “Danger, Will Robinson!” Increases in traffic crashes, drinking, and wide-spread use of carving knives should prompt greater awareness on All Hollows Eve.

Halloween Horrors…• Over 40 million children (5-14 yrs old) trick-or-treat.

• 77% of parents express Halloween-related fears including vehicle/pedestrian accidents, poisoning, abduction, or physical injuries (e.g., falls, burns, broken bones.)

• Halloween is consistently in the top three worst days each year for pedestrian injuries, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Over 20% of pedestrian fatalities on Halloween involve a drunk driver.

In past years, Halloween has seen a pedestrian killed every two hours and a traffic accident every seven minutes.

Halloween Horrors, cont…• Halloween is among the top three holidays resulting in

the most ER visits. Children 10-14 yrs old sustained the majority of injuries (30%).

• The greatest proportion of Halloween injuries children sustain are hand/finger lacerations – oftentimes while carving pumpkins. New York is in the Top 3 pumpkin producing states.

• Few reports of tampered candy are reported each year, but the famous urban legend of the Long Island poisoning in 1964 lives on: http://nypost.com/2011/10/30/li-woman-remembers-halloween-she-got-poison-with-candy/

ThanksgivingTraumaFrom the road to touch-football in the backyard, from the turkey in the fryer all the way to the table – Thanksgiving can serve up a higher number of risks.

Thanksgiving Trauma…• More traffic accidents occur during the Thanksgiving holiday than

Christmas or New Years.

• The National Safety Council (NSC) reports Thanksgiving as one of the top three most dangerous holidays. [source]

~500 Thanksgiving Traffic Fatalities Annually

Over 40 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more away from home during Thanksgiving (AAA)

Thanksgiving Trauma, cont…• Monikers like “Blackout Wednesday” or “Drinksgiving”

alert us to the dangers of alcohol + holidays.

• ~42% of Thanksgiving fatal accidents involve alcohol

• Data provided by the NY State Police report ~3,000 DWI tickets written each November.

• Reports indicate increased domestic violence during Thanksgiving – associated with increased alcohol consumption.

Thanksgiving Trauma…• According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are double the number of

home cooking fires on Thanksgiving.

• Deep Frying Turkeys results in an average of 5 deaths, 60 injuries and $15 million in property damage each year, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

According to the NSC, choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injuries – with the elderly most at risk. [source]

Christmas CrisesWhile making out your holiday wish list you might want to update your safety checklist to avoid the delivery of some Christmastime chaos.

Christmas Crises…Shoppers Beware the Busiest Shopping Season of the Year!

• ~100 Million Shoppers Pack the Stores on Black Friday• 52% of Black Friday Injuries Occur at Walmart• Pepper Spray is the #1 Most Reported Injury Incident

White Christmas?• Traffic Fatalities Increase Significantly on the First Snowy Day. New York

City’s First Snowfall Typically Occurs in December. [source]

• Snowfall Dramatically Increases the Number of Non-Fatal Accidents and New York State has an average of 66 snow days annually.

• Each year, most of New York state has a 75%+ chance of a White Christmas. [source]

• In 2013 (the most recent year stats are available), there were 5,660 vehicle accidents reported during December in New York State with snowy road conditions. Over 530 of those occurred on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. [source]

Accidents are Expected to Increase in 2015 Because Christmas Falls over a Weekend.

Fire Tragedy for the Holidays• The Red Cross reports almost 47,000 home fires during the winter holidays,

claiming over 500 lives and 2,200 injuries. [source]

• Each year there are ~6 deaths, 22 injuries and $18 million in property damage due to fires that start with Christmas trees.

• FEMA reports that December is peak time of year for home candle fires. [source]

Don’t Go Christmas Caroling @ the Emergency Room

~5,800 Emergency room visits during the holiday are due to falls related to outdoor decorating.

The CDC reports that there are ~250 injuries EACH DAY during the holiday season.

Stay Safe & Avoid Holiday Hazards.KaplanLawyers.com

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