4th of July Fireworks
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Burn Injury Lawyer. Celebrating Independence Day as Americans is an important event. Family and friends gather together for the best of summer activities. Swimming, barbecue, pie eating contests, and parades are all popular around the country as we commemorate the birth of a nation and what makes us all American. As the sun dips below the horizon, people often close the festivities by watching or lighting off fireworks. John Adams, in a letter to his wife on the day before signing the Declaration of Independence, wrote that the celebration in years to come would have games, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations. The next year on July 4, 1777, there were great firework shows in Philadelphia and Boston, fulfilling his words and starting a tradition that has stood the test of time.
Risks of Fireworks
While most people enjoy the spectacular displays of multi-colored blasts, fireworks are still explosives and can cause serious burn injuries if not handled properly. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported 6 deaths in 2012 from improper use of fireworks and an estimated 8,700 emergency room injuries. Proper safety procedures can reduce this risk and provide a safe, enjoyable experience for you and your family this 4th of July.
- Follow your local laws while purchasing fireworks. Certain types of fireworks are banned because of increased fire danger or injury potential.
- Always have responsible adult supervision when allowing children to use fireworks, even when using seemingly harmless varieties like Pop-Its or sparklers.
- Make sure you are in a safe area, away from houses, plants, trees or anything highly flammable.
- Keep track of, and retrieve spent fireworks. If you see where they end up, you can make sure their embers do not start a fire later on.
- Discard used or malfunctioning fireworks. Buckets filled with water are great to have on hand for disposal receptacles and to extinguish any fires or sparks that may flare up.
Firework Injury Legal Rights
Even after following all of these safety precautions, fireworks can still cause serious burns, injury, and property damage. If something of the sort happens to you or a friend, you may be entitled to restitution. When watching an organized show put on by professionals accidents can, and do happen. Early detonation can be a manufacturer defect or error on the operators. Negligence can be claimed when proper safety procedures are not followed or the right permits are not secured before a show that causes traumatic injuries to spectators.
When injuries are caused by a product defect in the explosive there are many entities that can be held liable; the manufacturer, importer, or the local retailer. In the case of foreign made fireworks, most are made in China where legal action would be difficult to take against the manufacturer. In those situations, the best course of action would be to file a claim against the retailer for they have a duty to sell properly functioning products.
Sacramento Burn Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Burn Injury Lawyer. Having served the community of Sacramento and surrounding areas with personal injury, auto accident, and wrongful death legal help since 1982, let me help you this summer if you have been injured or burned by fireworks. Call me for free and very friendly advice at 916-921-6400 or 800-404-5400.
To learn more about us read about our previous settlements and verdicts and check out our reviews on Yelp, Google, and Avvo. You can also visit my website, autoaccident.com, which is one of the most informative websites on car accidents and personal injury in Northern California.
I have been listed on milliondollaradvocates.com which contains trial lawyers in the U.S. that have won million dollar or multi-million dollar cases.
Sources:
- http://injury.findlaw.com/product-liability/fireworks-injuries.html
- http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2012/07/history_of_fireworks_in_america_why_do_we_celebrate_fourth_of_july_with_fireworks_.html
- https://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Research-and-Statistics/Injury-Statistics/Fuel-Lighters-and-Fireworks/Fireworks_Report_2012.pdf
Image Source: By Carol M. Highsmith – Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
:tb bw cv