Occupational domestic accidents

Domestic accidents result from an interaction of three main factors: the person (host), the agent, and the (home) environment. The nature of occupational domestic accidents most frequently encountered have been cuts (33%), dislocations and fractures (12%), contusions (12%), sprains and strains (9%), and burns (4%). Non-fatal injuries occur most frequently in the kitchen.

Accidents in the home account for a large proportion of accidental deaths and accidents in general, and are one of the three leading causes of death in many countries. The most common causes of home accidents are falls (40%), burns (24%), poisoning (6%), firearms (5%), gassing (4%), asphyxia (8%), others (electrocution, falling objects, etc) (13%). Domestic accidents strike women more often than men. Furthermore, children under 4 years of age and people over 65 have more accidents than all other age groups taken together. Recent figures show that in one year 20 million people in the USA alone were injured in domestic accidents - five times more than the number injured on the roads. Of these 20 million injured, 28,500 died within the year and 110,000 suffered permanent disabilities. Each year in the UK 6,000 people die as a result of accidents in the home, 100,000 are admitted to hospital and some 1 million receive treatment from their doctor. Another survey shows that most serious accidents occur in the kitchen, as approximately 32,000 children are burned every year in the UK. Additionally, of 2,000 home owners 76% store bleach under the kitchen sink in reach of children, and only 9% keep medicines in locked cabinets. In France, 5,000 deaths are reported annually in this accident class. In the European Community as a whole some 45 million people are injured a year and 80,000 killed in home and leisure accidents. Canada reports 2,000 deaths a year due to home accidents.