Garage Door Safety
Garage door injuries can happen to anyone at any time. Statistics taken by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) between 1990 and 2005 do show us what types of injuries are most common. In this 15 year period, there were 608 cases of garage door injuries, and what type of injury and how it happened gives those with garage doors a good idea into what they need to do to protect themselves. Here are the statistics and what you can do to prevent injury at your home and work.
Statistics
There were 608 recorded garage door injuries when people were opening or closing their doors who then had to seek treatment for said injuries at the hospital. The most common injury was that the underside of the garage door fell onto the patient, coming in at 248 injuries (39.9%). The second was a body part (unspecified) getting caught in the door panel while the garage was opening or closing, which injured 208 people (33.4%). Those were the two most significant by far, and make up the majority of injuries related to the opening and closing of garage doors that needed hospitalization.
There were ten other categories in which garage door injuries were sorted. These included:
- Being injured by the garage door mechanism which hurt 52 people (8.4%)
- Sustaining an injury while repairing the garage door which hurt 31 people (5.0%)
- Not Further Specified garage door injury which hurt 14 people (2.3%)
- Cut on the window of the garage door which injured 12 people (2.0%)
- Being hit by the opening garage door hurt 11 people (1.8%)
- There were 10 people who slipped while opening or closing their garage door (1.6%)
- There were 9 people who were lifted by their garage door upon opening then, fell to the ground (1.4%)
- There were 7 people who suffered strain while opening or closing their garage door (1.1%)
- The garage door fell off of its track or hinges onto a patient 6 times (1.0%)
While it seems that 608 injuries over a 15 year period is quite small and statistically insignificant, it is worth mentioning that this data comes from Canadian Hospital Injury reporting and so cannot account for those who chose not to seek medical attention at the hospital, or those who saw their family doctor or went to a non-emergency walk-in clinic.
Who Is Injured
A garage door can injure anyone of any age. Children are the most susceptible as they are often not strong enough to lift the door successfully on their own, their fingers are smaller and can get caught more easily in the mechanisms, and they have a tendency to lift the door only high enough to fit under and the door can come back down on their head. Make sure you educate your children on safe use of the garage door and help them with it until they are old enough to lift it safely.
Get Repairs Done with Easy Flip Garage Doors Inc in Toronto
If your garage is causing you problems or needs repairs, do not put them off. When garage doors malfunction it can easily lead to any of the injuries listed above. Call a professional who knows how to get the job done. At Easy Flip Garage Doors Inc, we work in Toronto and the GTA, including Mississauga, doing garage door installation, repairs, installing openers, and other services. If you are looking for the best garage doors, call us today!
