Illinois Injury Law Blog

The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that 200 people a day will be seriously injured by fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday and the National Fire Protection Association reports that fireworks were responsible for 22,500 fires in 2008.

Those figures include 1,400 structure fires and 500 vehicle fires. Our Illinois accident attorneys also remind parents that children are the most frequent victims of fireworks accidents, accounting for about half of all injuries each year.

The National Fire Protection Association provides the following safety tips:

*Leave fireworks to the professionals and do not use consumer fireworks.

*Attend a public display and keep away from fireworks storage or launching areas.

*Never allow children to handle fireworks.

The CPSC reports that 8,000 people were treated at the emergency room for fireworks injuries last year. About two-thirds of those cases occurred in the month surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

Fireworks injuries included:

1,200 firecracker injuries

1,000 sparkler injuries

300 injuries from bottle rockets

More than half of all injuries were burns. Other injuries included objects in the eyes and cuts and bruising. Thirty percent of injuries occurred to the hands, while 27 percent of victims suffered eye injuries and 15 percent had head, face or ear injuries.

In many cases, victims were injured by malfunctioning fireworks, which could result in an Illinois product liability claim. Malfunctioning fireworks were responsible for 78 percent of all injuries.

22 percent resulted from early ignition
22 percent from errant flight path
17 percent from tipover
13 percent from smoke or debris

Guests of commercial fireworks shows can also be injured by falling debris or as a result of a number of other causes. Those injured during a fireworks show in Illinois may also be entitled to collect damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other compensation as allowed by law.