Here comes the bride – in an ambulance?

12 September 2013

Here comes the bride – in an ambulance?

For the bride and groom, it’s meant to be the happiest day of their life – but for lots of Kiwis, a wedding ends up being a place where they get injured.

With the arrival of spring, the wedding ‘season’ is now cranking into gear. And going on past years’ claims, this means there’ll be plenty of people marching off to A and E after witnessing the wedding march in the months ahead!

It’s not possible for ACC to identify all injuries that may be wedding related. This is because we can only count claims where those filling out the claim form record that the injury happened at a wedding.

However, we did identify at least 600 claims for injuries between 2010 and 2012 that were clearly wedding-related.

So how are we getting into strife as we celebrate those tying the knot? One cause of injury stands out among all others – the dance floor!

Whether it’s teetering over in high heels, pulling muscles while busting out a fancy move, slipping on a wet floor or having your dainty toes stood on by another guest, dancing leads to most wedding-related injuries.

After that, it’s pretty much a case of “if you can find a way to get injured at a wedding, Kiwis will find it”.

Several injuries were sustained while jumping to catch the bouquet – so while being the successful fielder may indicate you’re next to get hooked, that insight may come at a price!

Lots of injuries happened setting up the wedding – there were back strains from moving tables, lifting cases of wine and carrying musical equipment, and people fell while stringing up lights and decorations.

It seems Kiwis’ love of sports carries through to weddings, and wedding day cricket matches, running races and sack races all ended in ACC claims.

Weddings are meant to be festive occasions, but don’t hug people too tight – doing so led to a handful of injuries. And if you’re videoing the big day, don’t lose sight of where you’re walking – you might end up joining the Kiwis who tripped and fell this way.

Food plays a big part in any wedding, but preparing it led to cut fingers, and people also chipped teeth on foreign objects in the cake or other wedding fare.

If you’ve bought new shoes for the wedding, break them in before the big day, or you risk blisters and subsequent infections. And finally, rings generally play a starring role at weddings, so guard against swallowing them or other jewellery – yes, this can happen!

ACC’s General Manager of Insurance and Prevention Services, John Beaglehole, says “We don’t want to rain on anyone’s wedding day. But what these claims show is that injuries can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.

“Just being aware of that can act as a prompt to do simple things to reduce the risk, such as cleaning up spills, taking care when lifting heavy objects and using sharp knives, and drinking responsibly. And maybe restrain the Miley Cyrus moves if you’re wearing heels on the dance floor.”

ENDS

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