With the Fourth of July approaching quickly, many families are preparing for backyard barbeques, pool parties, parades, and fireworks celebrations. However, safety must be on everyone’s radar since certain accidents occur more frequently during Independence Day festivities.
Here are some of the most common causes of accidents or wrongful deaths during the Fourth of July holiday and steps that everyone can take to keep themselves and their families safe.
Firework Accidents
When someone mentions the Fourth of July, your mind probably automatically flashes to images of dazzling red, white, and blue fireworks lighting up the night sky. While they are a popular tradition for any Independence Day celebration, fireworks can cause severe injuries when mishandled or malfunctioned.
Accidents involving fireworks most commonly lead to burns and other injuries to the face, eyes, hands, and fingers. To ensure that you and others stay safe, here are a few firework safety tips:
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Never attempt to re-ignite fireworks that did not go off
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Always have water on hand, such as a hose
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Soak duds in a bucket of water
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Do not allow children to light fireworks or go unsupervised near them
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Only purchase legal fireworks and abide by all local ordinances
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Swimming Pool Accidents
California residents are no strangers to the warm summer weather, and a popular way to cool down is by hopping in the swimming pool. If you’re having multiple people over for Fourth of July celebrations, it’s important to be wary of potential pool dangers.
Swimming pool accidents can happen especially easily in crowded pools when it’s harder to distinguish individual bodies or recognize signs of potential drowning. In addition, small children who don’t know how to swim properly are the most at risk of drowning or other serious swimming injuries.
With this in mind, residents and other adults should take a few steps if there’s a backyard pool:
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Have at least one adult supervising children in the water at all times
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Enforce “no running” and “no diving” rules
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Require inexperienced swimmers or small children to wear floaties or life jackets
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Supervising adults should not be consuming alcohol
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Have at least one person present who knows CPR
Car Accidents
Like most other holidays, roads are more heavily congested during the Fourth of July because more people will be traveling to attend parties or other holiday celebrations. Studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that more people die in car accidents on Independence Day than on any other day of the year.
Contributing factors to these auto accidents include:
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Speeding
With that said, it is incredibly important to always drive sober, abide by the speed limit, and stay vigilant behind the wheel. Doing so can be the difference between causing an accident and staying injury-free.
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Helping Our Communities Stay Safe
We hope that these tips provide you with some ways to prevent accidents on the Fourth. All of us at Fowler Helsel Vogt wish you and your family a wonderful and safe upcoming holiday celebration.
If you or a family member is injured during this time, our Fresno personal injury attorneys are here to help you seek compensation for your damages. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our firm for legal advocates in your corner.
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