Dangerous Fourth of July: Top 10 risks

By Jackie Longo Millions of Americans will gather on the Fourth of July to celebrate the nation’s birthday. They’ll light sparklers, watch fireworks and cook on the grill. All these things make Independence Day fun to celebrate, but accidents and injuries are always associated with the holiday weekend. Dr. Galinos Barmparas, medical director of trauma at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told ConsumerAffairs he typically sees an uptick in patients with injuries over the July Fourth weekend. “The combination of unsafe practices and high-risk material, such as fireworks, on top of consuming alcohol or using other drugs, all increase substantially the likelihood of an injury,” Barmparas stated. “Injuries may be minor, such as small cuts from sharp knives during food preparation or limited first-degree burns from sparklers. However, they can also be life-threatening or lead to permanent disability.” Barmparas says heat stroke, drowning, motor vehicle trauma and face and body trauma from improper use of fireworks are the most common ailments and injuries he has seen over the July Fourth weekend. Others involve poor decisions made after drinking alcohol or using drugs. “We also see a lot of tragic injuries from patients who think that riding an electric scooter...