The holidays can be a wonderful time to enjoy your family, friends and colleagues, but they can also be a time when there may be additional hazards in your workplace and/or home. From Christmas trees and Christmas lights to indoor heaters, candles and fireplaces, there can be a number of new items introduced into your home and/or workplace during the Christmas season, and knowing how to appropriately set up, use, monitor and maintain them can be essential to staying safe wherever you may be.

In this three-part blog series, we will point out some essential holiday safety tips to help you minimize some holiday-related hazards and risks that may be present in your workplace and home. If, however, you are recovering from a workplace injury, don’t hesitate to contact Colorado Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Michael P. Dominick for help with your financial recovery.

Tip 1 – Use the right lights for outdoor decorations.

These holiday safety tips can help you prevent fires and other dangerous situations both at work and at home. Contact us, however, if you’ve been hurt at work.

Decorating for the holidays is something that many businesses and homeowners do. If you’ll be in charge of hanging outdoor lights at work or home, here’s what you should know to stay safe and avoid possible hazards (like, for instance, starting a fire):

• Only hang lights intended for outdoor use outside.
• Consult the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding the maximum number of light strands that can be strung together end to end.
• If you will be using Christmas lights from last year (i.e., not newly purchased lights), be sure to carefully inspect each strand. Get rid of any strands that have frayed cords, cracked bulb holders and/or loose connections.

Tip 2 – Use proper ladder safety when hanging Christmas lights and decorations.

When decorating at work or at home, it’s likely that some of your decorations will be hung from rafters, ceilings, rooftops and other high places. If this is the case for you and you’ll be the one climbing a ladder to hang up the decorations, then be sure you are familiar with (and follow) properly ladder safety, some of which includes:

• Placing the ladder level and on firm ground.
• Setting straight ladders at a safe angle (which is usually about 75 degrees from the object against which it is leaning)
• Not using metal ladders near electrical equipment and/or power lines
• Not using ladders with broken rungs
• Not standing on the ladder’s top step.

For some additional holiday safety tips for your workplace and home, don’t miss the second and third parts of this blog series that will be published soon!

Colorado Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at the Law Office of Michael P. Dominick

If you have sustained a workplace injury and are considering (or in the process of) filing a workers’ compensation claim, contact the Colorado workers’ compensation lawyers at the Law Office of Michael P. Dominick. Our legal professionals are experienced at going up against corporate lawyers and insurance companies, and we have a proven track record of success when it comes to securing our Clients the maximum possible compensation for their injuries and financial losses.

Contact Us Today

For a thorough evaluation of your case, along with expert advice on the best manner in which to move forward, call us at (303) 447-2644.