The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, and the last thing on your mind should be a personal injury lawsuit. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, even during the most wonderful time of the year. Tripping or falling over Christmas lights of your own doing is one thing, but what if your injury is caused by the negligence of someone else?

What is Negligence?

Negligence is when a person could have done something to prevent an unfortunate outcome but did not, either due to ignorance or laziness. For example, if a store owner refuses to clean up a spill and someone ends up getting hurt, the injured party is considered a victim of negligence.

Most Common Injuries During the Christmas Season

During 2011 through 2015, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported over 1,700 Christmas related injuries in 100 hospitals. Here are a collection of those common Christmas injuries.

The decision to place an elderly parent or another family member in a nursing home is often made with best intentions. Common tasks may become impossible for your elderly loved one to complete, and a nursing home can provide around-the-clock care to make them more comfortable. You may feel guilty for not being able to provide the care yourself, but nursing homes have health professionals that are experienced in the needs of elderly people.

You want to think that your loved one is safe in your nursing home of choice, but one out of ten elders experience some form of neglect in a nursing home.

There are four main types of neglect that are seen in a nursing home:

Car accidents are inevitable with human error. However, the likelihood of an accident is significantly higher when the driver behind the wheel is under the influence of alcohol. Approximately one-fourth of all fatal car accident victims in Illinois in 2016 were alcohol-related. There were also 29,528 DUI arrests in the same year, as reported by the Secretary of State’s office. A drunk driver perceives the road differently than a sober driver, and sometimes defensive driving is not enough to protect yourself.

What Is A DUI?

A DUI, or Driving Under the Influence, is when a person is operating a motor vehicle while under a mind-altering substance. DUI’s are most known for alcohol offenses, but they also include:

• Drugs,
• Marijuana,
• Methamphetamines.

Whether a person is operating a vehicle illegally depends on the concentration of the substance in their system. A person is considered under the influence of alcohol in Illinois if their Blood Alcohol Content is .08 or more. A person with a lower level of alcohol in their system can still be charged if their driving is affected by the substance.

Having a child is an important milestone in many adults’ lives. In some cases, births do not go as smoothly as planned and injuries happen to the mother, the infant or both. Birth injuries can be devastating to both the parents and the infant because they can cause lifelong symptoms and can affect your baby’s growth and development. There are many different types of birth injuries that range from mild to severe, but any preventable birth injury is an unacceptable outcome of poor decision-making or negligence on the doctor’s part.

Causes of Birth Injuries

A birth injury can be caused by a number of things, some due to decisions made by your doctor and some associated with conditions present before or during the baby’s birth. Risk factors for birth injuries can include:

• Large birth weight, over 8 pounds, 13 ounces;
• Premature babies born before 37 weeks' gestation;
• Mother’s pelvis is too small for a vaginal birth or not shaped correctly;
• Difficult or prolonged labor; and
• Abnormal birthing presentation, such as a breech delivery.

Birth injuries can also be caused by decisions made by your doctor. These causes can include:

Dogs have been considered man’s best friend for centuries. Researchers estimated that animal companionship dates back tens of thousands of years. Currently, around 68 percent of households in the United States own a pet, with the majority of those pets being dogs. Dogs make great companions because of their desire to please their owners and their typically jolly demeanor.

Like all animals, dogs will defend themselves when they feel it necessary, and they do so by biting. Being animals, dogs’ mouths are full of different kinds of bacteria, some of which can be deadly when introduced to a human’s bloodstream. With powerful jaws that can cause major damage, dogs can cause bite injuries that are so severe, they require extensive medical treatment.

Injuries From Dog Bites

Dogs are omnivores, but the main part of their diet is protein, which means that their bodies were designed to hunt other animals. Dogs have powerful jaws and sharp teeth that can easily injure humans. Types of injuries that can happen when you are bitten include: