Backyard Barbecue Injuries That May Trigger Claims Or Lawsuits
A backyard barbecue may not seem like a dangerous event or place, but it can lead to severe injuries for attendees. If you are injured in a backyard barbecue, you may have a personal injury claim against the host or other parties depending on the cause of your injuries. Here are some of the injuries that may trigger such claims or lawsuits.
Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are some of the most common ones at backyard barbecues. This makes sense since barbecuing involves hot appliances and fire. The risk of burn injuries is even higher if everyone has access to the fire, if the grill is placed too close to the house, if the grill is dirty or if the grilling location is too close to the seating area. However, the grill and its fire aren't the only potential causes of burn injuries; you can also experience burn injuries if you or someone accidentally knocks over candles (in case the barbecue is being held at night).
Slip and Fall Injuries
Slip and fall injuries are also common at backyard barbecues. People can trip over holes in the backyard, carelessly discarded tools or even stumps of trees in the yard and hurt themselves. That is why astute barbecue hosts prepare their yards by trimming the lawn and keeping yard tools and carelessly discarded toys away.
Food Injuries
Any gathering that involves food raises the risk of food-related injuries. The classic example of food injury is food poisoning, which arises when you eat poorly cooked food or food contaminated with germs from other sources. However, there are other forms of food injuries such as chocking, scalding, and getting injured by foreign objects (such as shards of glass) in the food. The greater the variety of food being offered the higher the risk of incurring a food-related injury.
Intoxication Injuries
Lastly, you should also be aware of the risk of intoxication-related injuries. This is particularly true if alcohol or marijuana is also being served during the barbecue. Note that intoxication impairs judgment, and impaired judgment increases the risk of all other accidents mentioned above. For example, you can easily lose your footing and stagger into the grill if you are drunk. Even the risk of slipping and falling increases where alcohol is being served.
Whereas it may seem like bad manners to sue someone who had invited you for a barbecue, you may have no option but to do it if you are severally injured. Besides, assuming the host has homeowner's insurance coverage, it is the insurance carrier who will sign the settlement check. Therefore, go ahead and consult a personal injury lawyer to help you determine if you have a valid claim.
For more information, contact a law office like Lerner, Piermont & Riverol, P.A.