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Strange accidents are fairly common, and emergency rooms routinely treat injuries caused by basic household tasks like opening food packages and trying DIY fixes. Emergency room doctors say most of these accidents happen when people try to rush common tasks or try to improvise when they lack proper tools.
In some cases, these unusual injuries can lead to lawsuits when negligence or unsafe conditions are involved – especially if someone unsuspecting is hurt. When that happens, the injured party can pursue compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.
However, many bizarre accidents are self-created and never make it to court. Here’s a small handful of the many strange ways people get hurt.
- Avocado hand stabbings
Food prep seems harmless but kitchens are a prime location for injuries. Doctors frequently see strange injuries caused by rushing through tasks or improvising with unsafe techniques. One of the most common kitchen injuries happens when someone stabs themselves in the hand trying to remove an avocado pit. Apparently, this type of injury is so common that surgeons have dubbed it “avocado hand.”
If you’re going to slam a knife into an avocado pit to remove it, it’s best to put the avocado half down on your cutting board first, move your hands away, and gently but firmly tap it with a knife.
- Champagne cork eye injuries
Many people enjoy a nice bottle of champagne when celebrating or entertaining guests, but a champagne cork can launch out of the bottle at 50 miles per hour. Some people have had their retinas detached from opening a bottle, while others have experienced vision loss.
- Exploding microwave egg
Cooking scrambled eggs in the microwave is safe, albeit tasteless, but a microwaved whole egg will explode when you bite into it. Microwaving a whole egg creates pressure inside the shell and when bitten into, it can cause the steam to release violently. Many people have burned their mouths and faces trying this out.
- Collapsing chairs
It may look cool on YouTube but leaning back on two legs of a chair is asking for injury. Many people who attempt this stunt (or do it accidentally) end up with cracked skulls or broken arms.
It’s equally dangerous to stand on a rolling chair to reach something up high. No matter how stable you think you can maintain the chair, it’s not worth the risk.
- Falling from objects that should not be climbed
Sometimes people climb onto unstable objects and end up falling. Even if the fall is only a couple of feet, it can result in serious injury. For example, standing on an improvised ladder might work for a few seconds but as soon as the person reaches for something (like a lightbulb) or climbs high enough to push the ladder out, the ladder slips and they fall.
- Foot injuries caused by vacuums
It sounds strange but sometimes people vacuum barefoot and run over their feet.
- Toilet seat slams
People have broken fingers when the toilet seat drops hard.
- Electric toothbrush accidents
Brushing your teeth should be a relatively boring task but sometimes people walk around the house while brushing and end up tripping and injuring themselves when their toothbrush punctures their mouth or throat.
- Dog leash finger injuries
Sometimes dogs bolt without warning and a leash wrapped around a finger can cause a dislocated joint, tissue damage, and sometimes finger amputation. This typically happens with thinner, retractable leashes. However, you should never wrap any leash around your fingers or hands.
- Cat trip injuries
Cats are notorious for hovering around people’s legs and feet, and they frequently cause people to trip. When a cat trips someone carrying a heavy object, it can cause serious injury.
- Texting while walking
There are countless incidents documented of people walking down the street while staring at their phone who slam into a pole, walk right into other pedestrians, trip over a crack in the sidewalk, or fall into a hole.
- Scarf incidents on bikes
People often find out the hard way that it’s a bad idea to wear a long scarf while riding a bicycle. The scarf gets caught in the wheels, the bike stops, and they get thrown off.
- Treadmill injuries
Most treadmill injuries happen when people are either not paying attention or using the treadmill unsafely.
Strange injuries are preventable
Although sometimes weird accidents sound funny, injuries can be very serious. Most strange injuries start with something normal like cooking or cleaning, but when safety is ignored and risk is underestimated, it can turn into a disaster. A little awareness will go a long way toward avoiding the emergency room.