Don’t Let An Egg Scramble Your Plans This Weekend

Thursday, 5 April 2012, 4:02 pm
Press Release: ACC

Media Release

5 April 2012

Don’t Let An Egg Scramble Your Plans This Weekend

Last year, eggs and rabbits caused 459 people to have an accident at home.
Granted, these eggs and rabbits weren’t necessarily of the ‘Easter’ variety, but Easter is definitely a time when lots of injuries do happen.

That’s not surprising - many people use the Easter weekend to finish all those jobs that need doing before the bad weather really sets in. It can be a long list of chores with things like tree trimming, house painting, clearing guttering and water blasting. So the chances of injuring yourself at home increase – as they do during any public holidays.

Last Easter, 6,800 people were injured in and around their homes. That’s enough people to fill over 14 Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Over 3,000 of these people (enough to fill over six 747 jumbo jets) injured themselves when they had a fall at home.

Falls are the biggest cause of injuries in the home. The number of New Zealanders injured in their own home is more than those injured at work or on the road. Nearly half of all home injuries are caused by slips, trips and falls. ACC wants to change this.

Follow these simple safety tips to make sure you can celebrate Easter with a well earned chocolate egg and not a trip to the hospital:

• Many injuries happen at the end of the day when you’re tired and rushing to get a job finished. Spend time planning out your activities.

• Be realistic with what you can achieve and whether it would be better to get experts in.

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• When using a ladder, make sure the ladder is stable before climbing up. Always keep at least three points of contact, for example two feet and one hand, and don’t over-reach sideways.

• If hiring equipment, make sure you know how to use it and have the recommended safety equipment. This gear is there for a reason – to protect you.

• When using power tools, always keep the safety guards in place and make sure you wear closed shoes – preferably non-slip boots, plus eye and ear protection.

• Beware of dust, fumes and smoke. Make sure your work area is well-ventilated and wear the right sort of respiratory protection. Remember to keep children and animals away from these areas too.

ACC has launched a nationwide competition called Idea Nation to find ideas for preventing falls in the home. Enter your idea and you could win $10,000. For more information visit www.ideanation.co.nz.

For more home safety tips visit www.homesafety.co.nz.

Have a safe and happy Easter (and watch out for those rascally wabbits).

--------------------------------------------

Regional injury statistics Easter 2011

	Home - falls	Home - other	Total
Unknown	1	2	3
Northland	170	243	413
Auckland	969	1344	2313
Waikato	305	428	733
Bay of Plenty	194	251	445
Gisborne	25	41	66
Hawke's Bay	152	208	360
Taranaki	83	74	157
Manawatu-Wanganui	161	160	321
Wellington	291	276	567
Tasman	35	32	67
Nelson	39	47	86
Marlborough	42	30	72
Canterbury	346	450	796
West Coast	8	15	23
Other	10	7	17
Otago	163	161	324
Southland	32	48	80
Total	3026	3817	6843

ENDS

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