DID YOU KNOW that it’s prime injury season at the moment?

Well it is.

Figures just released by the Injuries Board (the independent statutory body which makes personal injury compensation awards arising from motor, workplace and public liability accidents) show that the summer months are the most dangerous period for public place accidents, with €53 million in such compensation paid out for public liability claims in 2014 alone.

So, be careful out there (although the opposite may be more lucrative).

50% of public liability awards last year (there were 2,151 in 2014) were for amounts of less than €20,000, with just 10 awards made for amount of greater than €100,000.

The average award in 2014 was for €24,677.

Figures for the last three years show that women are far more likely than men to suffer such an accident in a public place. Women currently account for 68.9% of all such awards, which sees them as twice as likely to hurt themselves as their manly counterparts.

Be more careful ladies appears to be the mantra.

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“The 2014 figures point to a peak in compensation awards for public place accidents during the summer months,” said Stephen Watkins, Director of Corporate Services with the Injuries Board.

This stands to reason as this is a time when children are on school holidays, people take holidays from work, and there are greatly increased numbers of people out and about enjoying the huge range of festivals, sporting events, and outdoor activities taking place throughout the country.

By being safety aware this summer, we can all take some simple steps to avoid the all-too-common slips, trips and falls that make up the majority of public liability awards.

These self same slips, trips and falls are by far the most common accidents to occur in public, while shops, supermarkets and shopping centres are the top business premises for public accidents.

The most accident prone counties are Dublin, Cork and Limerick in that order.

Awards tend to be evenly distributed across the different age groups.

Saturday is the worst day of the week for public accidents (Monday being the best). July see the highest number of accidents, and April the lowest.

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