January 14, 2021
5 Resolutions for a Safe, Injury-Free Year
The beginning of the year provides a great opportunity for self-improvement. Start your year right this month by prioritizing safety, whether at home, in the workplace, or on the road and have an injury-free year.
What Are the Causes of Injury?
Anything that can cause harm or damage to the body is called an injury. Injuries can be either accidental or done with intent and they can happen at any time or place.
Although you can rely on legal organizations, such as personal injury law firms in Toronto to file for compensation if you do get injured, it is to your benefit to avoid safety pitfalls altogether.
Some of the most common causes of injury include the following:
- Falls and impacts
- Athletic or sports injuries
- Bicycle or vehicle accidents
- Animal bites or sting injuries
- Thermal, chemical or electrical burns
- Chemical exposure or poisoning
- Overuse and repetitive motion injuries
- Acts of violence
What Are the Risk Factors That Lead to Injury?
There are certain variables that would increase the likelihood of injuries. Common risk factors include:
- Age
- Alcohol and drug use
- Joint or bone ailments
- Chronic illnesses
- Ingesting certain types of medicines
- Distractions or lack of attention
- Mental conditions
- Lack of hearing
- Poor judgment
- Reduction of mobility
- Failure to wear protective gear
- Aggressive or violent behaviour
Tips for Injury Prevention
To start the year right, you should focus on thinking about safety goals to avoid injuries as much as possible. To help you get started, here are effective suggestions on safety-related new year’s resolutions:
1.Always Make Time to Remember the Past
Safety goals should not be made arbitrarily. Blindly doing so will just result in unclear, half-baked, and ineffective methods and execution. Try to remember any injury or safety-related incident that happened in the past year and ask yourself these questions:
- What were those injuries?
- How often were you injured?
- Did those injuries happen by accident or were they intentional?
- Did you experience any physical or mental condition when prior to getting injured?
- Did you do anything that might have contributed to those injuries happening?
- Have you ever involved in a vehicle-related accident?
- Are there any lingering effects of those injuries?
- Were they severe enough that you lost income and required the services of a personal injury attorney in the Toronto area?
Using these questions as a basis, you will be able to think of an effective safety plan for yourself as well as how to execute them properly. Furthermore, self-reflection will also give you a better understanding of yourself and your actions, having a significant impact on your overall health and safety.
2.Upgrade to Proper Riding Gear
If your preferred mode of transportation is a motorcycle, then you’ve probably been following the basic safety requirements as mandated by the laws in your area, which is wearing the approved helmet. While the protective headgear is certainly useful for accidents, it won’t protect the rest of your body against injuries.
For the new year, you need to do more to stay safe on the road. So as part of your resolution, make sure to wear the full motorcycle riding gear to ensure maximum safety on the road.
Unlike regular clothing, motorcycle gear is made of special materials and specifically designed to protect the rider from a variety of motorcycle-related injuries.
A complete set of motorcycle riding gear consists of the following:
- Motorcycle helmet
- Motorcycle gloves
- Motorcycle jacket
- Motorcycle boots
- Motorcycle pants
- One-piece motorcycle suit
3.Learn to Focus and Avoid Distractions
Distractions are one of the major risk factors when it comes to injuries. While they aren’t much of an issue if you are stationary, they can be a safety hazard if you are either walking or driving.
When you get distracted, you will not be able to pay attention to your surroundings. This makes you and others around you susceptible to injuries or fatalities caused by the following:
- Vehicle collisions
- Running over pedestrians
- Falling holes and other deep areas
- Tripping on raised objects
- Slipping on wet or frozen surfaces
Here are the most common distractions:
- Using your mobile phone while driving or walking.
- Zoning out
- Applying cosmetics
- Talking to other passengers or pedestrians while moving
- Listening to loud music while walking
- Getting distracted by other objects or happenings
As part of your new year’s resolution, you should avoid distractions while walking or driving. Here are a few suggestions that can help you do just that:
- Focus on the road ahead of you and pay attention to your surroundings.
- Put your smartphone on silent mode and avoid touching it while driving.
- Turn off your car’s music while driving.
- Do not listen to music when walking, especially in accident-prone areas.
In the event of an accident, never hesitate to call for legal services. There will be accident injury lawyers in the Toronto area who will be able to help you.
4.Walk With Caution
Walking with caution doesn’t necessarily mean walking slowly. It means increasing your awareness while you walk. You have to look at where you’re going and keep watch for anything that might cause injuries such as slippery surfaces and debris that can cause you to trip.
If you’re the type who always seems to be in a hurry, consider taking it slow this year. It will teach you to become more alert, be more observant of your surroundings, and spot possible signs of danger.
5.Learn to Keep Calm
It’s normal for people to feel anger and frustration when faced with a difficult and upsetting situation. The unfortunate side of this is that anger unchecked can often lead to people making bad, often irrational, decisions that can often have notable consequences. These consequences can range from hurt feelings to serious injuries. A frustrated driver, for example, can take the wrong lane and hit another vehicle, or a heated argument can escalate into a physical altercation.
Negative feelings can cloud a person’s judgement. Learn to calm down, control your emotions, and let go of your anger. One way to do so is by practicing deep breathing exercises and meditation techniques. Staying calm, even during an upsetting situation, can help you make more rational decisions and avoid causing injuries to yourself and to others.
The new year provides a perfect opportunity for you to become a better individual. While you are striving for your own goals for self-improvement, never forget that health and safety will always come first. Set your goals for an injury-free year.
However, if in spite of all the precautionary measures, you sustained an injury from an accident, call Michelle Linka Law. Our personal injury lawyers will offer you assistance in filing your accident benefit claims so you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today at (416) 477-7288.