Latest News about Texas Personal Injury Law / Cases

Dallas Fort Worth | Injury Attorney | Halloween Injuries | Texas

Posted on May 04, 2010

(and I'm not talking about the overeating of candy that I do every year)

It is that time of year where the trick-or-treaters come out of nowhere and descend upon your front porch. Decorating your house for Halloween can be fun, but as with any activity, precautions have to be taken. One of the worst tragedies I have ever handled as an attorney came from a Halloween accident. A young girl went out trick-or-treating in her neighborhood with her family. She was wearing a handmade (and very flammable) costume which came into contact with a candle in a jack-o-lantern on a front porch where she was trick-or-treating. The instant her costume touched the flame, it went up in flames. Despite her family being right there with her, she did not survive. It was absolutely horrible. I learned several lessons from that experience:

Never, ever have an open flame on your porch during Halloween. When the kids come to your door, they crowd around and will cover the entire porch area. Having a candle in a pumpkin which you set off to the side of the porch is not safe enough. No flames whatsoever should be anywhere near the porch. (I have also read of flames igniting curtains inside the house, so be careful inside and out).
Never ever use flammable material in a costume. Most costumes you buy at the store will be made in non-flammable material, but look for the labels saying "Flame Resistant". Homemade costumes, which are great fun to make, often incorporate materials that are not rated for clothing. In my legal case, the costume was made from jute (like the kind used to make macrame). It was extremely flammable.
Never use costumes with long, draping features or big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts. Again, most store bought costumes should be fine. But the home made costumes can be a hazard. For instance, capes are the type of thing that can easily come into contact with open flames. At the least, they can be tripping hazards that can lead to a nasty spill if the trick-or-treater starts running (as they are inclined to do) to the next house handing out the free candy.
Watch your children (or grandchildren) like a hawk on Halloween and make sure that when they walk up to a house, the house is up to your standard for safety.

Other Halloween Warnings:

Purchase or make costumes that are light, bright and clearly visible to motorists.
For greater visibility during dusk and darkness, decorate or trim costumes with reflective tape that will glow in the beam of a car's headlights. Bags or sacks also should be light-colored or decorated with reflective tape. Reflective tape is usually available in hardware, bicycle and sporting goods stores
Children should carry flashlights to see and be seen.
Tie hats and scarves securely to prevent them from slipping over children's eyes and obstructing vision.
If your child wears a mask, make sure it fits securely, provides adequate ventilation, and has eye holes large enough to allow full vision.
Swords, knives and similar costume accessories should be made of soft, flexible materials.

Treats

Warn children not to eat any treats until an adult has examined them carefully for evidence of tampering.
Carefully examine any toys or novelty items received by trick-or-treaters under three years of age. Do not allow young children to have any items that are small enough to present a choking hazard or that have small parts or components that could separate during use and present a choking hazard.

Decorations

Remove obstacles from lawns, steps and porches when expecting trick-or-treaters.
Indoors or outside, use only lights that have been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory, such as UL. Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections. Discard damaged sets.
Don't overload extension cords.

Happy Halloween!