Christmas can be...dangerous?

Watch out at Christmas - and not just for Santa, New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corp warned on Thursday. About 3,000 people are injured seriously enough to make claims for compensation every Christmas Day, Kelly Maung, a spokeswoman for the government agency, told the TV3 channel after a survey of accidents over the past five years.

The number one cause was identified as slips, trips and falls, she said, with hanging Christmas lights another dangerous occupation.

Wrapping gifts can hazardous, accounting for a quarter of the 170 people injured handling presents in the past five years. Another 20 per cent of injuries were caused by unwrapping gifts, Maung said.

Four hundred people were injured putting up their Christmas trees while every Christmas about 20 people placed compensation claims for hurting themselves while cutting their turkey, ham or chicken dinner.


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