Common home improvement projects and yardwork may seem mundane, but these routine tasks account for a significant amount of injuries each year.
In 2019, more than 775,000 injuries were related to housework and home improvement projects, with 300,000 of these injuries resulting from working in the yard.
Most injuries that occur in the yard can be attributed to high-power tools used to cut grass or perform other landscaping work, such as lawnmowers, chainsaws and trimmers. These resulted in more than 37,000 head injuries and 16,000 upper-body fractures in the last year.
It’s also more likely that your fingers and eyes will suffer from work around the home. Consider that in 2019, housework was to blame for more than 165,000 finger lacerations and 54,000 eye injuries.
With social distancing at hand in 2020, and Americans spending much more time at home, analysts project injuries from indoor-related activities may rise. Even before Americans were isolated inside, many people expected to perform home repairs and projects in the year ahead, ValuePenguin reports.
According to its report, 77% of people planned to undertake home improvement projects — an increase of 4% from a year ago.
With this projected rise in home maintenance plans and yardwork projects comes an increased risk for injury. As with most threats, the first step in preventing accidents or injury is to know the dangers at hand.
