Home accidents kill

BY SIMON EDWARDS

Home is where the heart is  but it's also where too many of us injure and kill ourselves.

Home injury data released yesterday by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) says 48 people were killed in home accidents in the Wellington region in 2009.

The statistics, released to coincide with the launch of Safety NZ Week, show that 49,734 people were injured in their homes in this region.

Nearly 9400 people were injured in Lower Hutt homes and 13 died as a result of their injuries.

ACC injury prevention general manager Keith McLea says many of these accidents could have been avoided with one simple change in the home.

"The reality is something as simple as remembering to flick the light switch on when you use the stairs can help you avoid a fall," he says.

Nationally, the statistics show that one in seven, or 632,920 New Zealanders were injured in their homes last year, down from 664,334 in 2008.

A total of 621 people died from their injuries, an increase of 17 deaths from 2008.

"Home accidents take an incredible toll on families and friends, workplaces, and communities, and they are costing us all. Last year New Zealanders paid out $622 million through ACC levies for the treatment and rehabilitation of people injured in their homes."

The dangers of the home:

Statistics show New Zealanders are more likely to be injured at home than in their car, at work or playing sport. Every 56 seconds a New Zealander is injured in their own home.

They're the kind of figures that tend to wash over people, but Petone resident Brenda Kenworthy is all too aware of the toll of home accidents.

She works for the ACC, and volunteered to tell her story in the hope of alerting others to take care.

Last January Mrs Kenworthy was trying to make the most of her time while her grandson was sleeping. She had just finished washing the windows and was rushing around getting other things done when she slipped in a puddle of water that had dripped off the window.

"I was wearing my Crocs [plastic shoes]; the combination of Crocs and water is lethal," she says.

Mrs Kenworthy slipped down some outside stairs about half a metre, landed on her back and fractured lumbar vertebrae. She got herself up on her hands and knees and crawled inside to her bed but soon realised she needed to get to hospital.

Mrs Kenworthy initially had two weeks off work and then went back on half days; but it wasn't until April that she was able to return to work fulltime. Her fracture has since collapsed further, and she still experiences significant pain.

Statistics show there are 87 stair-related accidents every day that result in an ACC claim.

"The consequences for me have been serious," Mrs Kenworthy says. It's a struggle to walk her dogs far if they pull at the lead and she can now barely lift her grandson.

"It's a damned nuisance. There will always be a weakness there for me now."

She's in her sixties and says she should have known better. "But imagine when the over 80s fall down stairs. It can be devastating."

Mrs Kenworthy says she's very aware of potential hazards around her home and urges locals to go from room to room and think about dangerous situations they can remedy. In her case, she's replaced a short ladder with steps on only one side with a better, double-sided version.

- Hutt News