Whether you love shopping or you hate it, tis the season. Chances are high you’ll do more of it than normal this time of year. At Monsour Law Firm, we want your season to be merry and bright, not painful and expensive. We’ve put together these tips to help you avoid injury while holiday shopping, whether you’re in in Tyler or Longview Texas, Shreveport Louisiana or anywhere else.
Know Common Shopping Injury Causes
Shop owners across America are required to keep their stores safe for consumers. With the extra traffic and sales that happen during the holiday season, sometimes stores fail to do so. This year, with a nationwide labor shortage, retailers are short staffed. Keeping stores and restaurants safe may be more of a challenge than ever. Consumers would be wise to be on the lookout for these common shopping injury causes.
- Flooring problems – Wet floors, torn or uneven flooring, loose stairs or handrails and other issues can cause slip and fall injuries.
- Falling objects – Head and upper body injuries happen when merchandise is out of reach, when displays topple over or when merchandise falls on shoppers.
- Parking lot accidents – Shopping centers are crowded and drivers are distracted. Pedestrians and other vehicles get hit. Pedestrians might also have slip and fall accidents because of potholes or wet or icy pavement.
- Crowd hazards – When a store is too crowded or high traffic areas are poorly managed, patrons can slip and fall or be trampled or shoved.
Think Through Shopping Cart Safety
Nearly 66 children are taken to the emergency department for shopping-cart related injuries every single day. Kids get concussions, broken bones, head and neck injuries and more when shopping carts tip over or they fall out. Even death has occurred in some tragic cases.
Parents who use a shopping cart should choose one as low to the ground as possible. If the one you end up with wobbles, go back and get a better one. Always belt your child into the seat using the attached straps and insist he or she keep legs through the openings.
Don’t let kids ride in the back part of the cart or underneath the basket. That’s just asking for little fingers to get pinched or feet to get caught. Keep kids from hanging on the cart if they’re walking alongside as this may cause your cart to become unbalanced and tip over on them.
Avoid Parking Lot Accidents
The National Safety Council says out of the tens of thousands of crashes that happen in parking lots and parking garages, a large percentage occur because of distractions. More than half of drivers admit to programming their GPS systems, texting, using social media, sending or receiving emails or engaging in personal grooming while driving in parking lots.
To avoid accidents while holiday shopping, stay alert. Don’t be one of those drivers. Assume everyone else isn’t paying attention and drive defensively. Don’t cut across parking lots, follow the way traffic was designed to flow.
Drive slowly and anticipate the actions of drivers near you. Watch out for pedestrians and signs that indicate traffic directions. Be extra cautious when backing out.
If You Experience Personal Injury While Holiday Shopping
If you were significantly injured while holiday shopping, we can help you seek compensation for doctor bills, time off work and your pain and suffering. First, seek medical care for yourself and anyone else involved. Then, schedule an appointment with our personal injury attorneys by clicking this link.
