- Over a third of Brits are injured assembling furniture
- Women are most at risk from hefty items: 33% of women hurt themselves moving wardrobes
- People over 65 most likely to be hurt through not reading instructions properly
With furniture sales kicking off across the country DIY-ers are being urged to take extra care while they work, as research* from Personal Injury law specialist First4lawyers has revealed that over a third (35%) of Brits have sustained an injury whilst assembling new furniture.
Home improvers reported injuries including everything from assembling bookcases (13%) to putting up a new picture (3%). But by far the biggest risk was to women taking on the ‘men’s work’ and grappling with wardrobes – with 33% hurting themselves when attempting to assemble one, compared to just as a quarter of men.
Of those surveyed, half of all women who injured themselves said that they sustained injuries by dropping the furniture due to its weight. For people aged 65 and over, failing to read the instructions was the most common cause of injury, with almost half of those surveyed saying that they were injured by items collapsing, because of misread instructions.
Other common causes of injury are tripping over when carrying new furniture (22%), or injuries relating to faulty products (16%).
People in Glasgow are most likely to be injured when assembling furniture (45%), followed by London (44%), Birmingham (40%), Cardiff (39%) and Dublin (37%). The safest city is Liverpool (21%).
A First4lawyers spokesperson said: “At this time of year lots of people decide to take advantage of furniture sales and tackle home improvement projects. However, our research shows that, while new furniture can give your home a welcome boost, there are plenty of risks that come with it. So while you might pick up a bargain in the autumn sales, you could end up paying the price with your health.
“Our research shows that women need to be particularly careful when assembling large, heavy items of furniture, and our advice would be to make sure you have help from a family member or a friend when assembling it. It’s also important to make sure you read the instructions properly, take extra care with larger items and clear the floors of anything you could potentially trip over when moving furniture.”
Top ten furniture injury culprits:
- Wardrobes (29%)
- Bookcases (13%)
- Beds (11%)
- Tables (8%)
- Kitchen units (7%)
- Sheds (6%)
- Sofas (5%)
- Chairs (5%)
- Dressers (4%)
- Outdoor seating (4%)
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