Christmas cracker compensation claims 

With the mass of decorations causing possible electrocution, trip hazards, crush injuries and all kinds of other personal injuries, Christmas has the potential to provoke hundreds upon hundreds of personal injury compensation claims.

The year quickly passes and it gets to that time of year when you have to haul the Christmas decorations down from the attic. Wherever it is with miserable reluctance or great enthusiasm, getting all the decorations up is by no means an easy feat and is a task that is shrouded in potential hazards and personal injury.

The severity of the risk hazard depends what type of Christmas decorator you are. There seems to be four standard Christmas decorator types which have been ordered in potential personal injury risk.

Firstly there is the stereotypical Scrooge. The scrooge takes no interest in decorating and is more likely to gain a Christmas decoration personal injury from ripping them down than putting them up.

Then there is the reluctant minimalist. These types put up decorations simply because they feel obliged and don't want to be mistaken for the Scrooge. They make the bare minimum effort which may include a fold up artificial tree bought for a fiver ten years ago and perhaps the odd piece of tinsel strewn randomly across the odd picture frame. They might suffer the odd injury from erecting their plastic tree.

Next is the Conservative traditionalist. These folks want everything just so and will often have 'themes' for their decorations based on the advice of Country Life magazine or the Christmas edition of Vogue. Any children or visitors must comply with their look but don't touch policy when admiring their Christmas masterpieces. Personal injuries may include singed eyebrows from cranberry-scented candle lighting incidents, arm strain from Fortnum and Mason carrier bag holding and possible amputation from Christmas tree chopping.

Lastly there is the gaudy 'more is best' decorator. These crazy Christmas obsessives generally start their decorating mid-September time and often compete to be the first in their street to have their lights up. They are at the most risk of personal injury just from the sheer amount of decorations crammed into one space. Their houses often rival Blackpool illuminations and every kind of Christmas image imaginable will be blown up in lights onto their houses. The risk of electrocution is high amongst this category as is ladder-associated injuries from putting up all the lights.

Compensation claims at this time of year are of the type that gives the personal injury lawyers a bit of light relief from their usual everyday slips and trips – common Christmas time injuries include broken arms from overzealous Christmas cracker pulling, injuries from out of control scalextric cars and burns suffered from Christmas pudding lighting.

So to avoid having to make a personal injury compensation claim this year, make sure you take some care this year while decorating and partying.

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