August, Saturday, 2pm: be afraid, be very afraid
Most accidents in Irish homes happen on a Saturday and August is the worst month for accidents.
The most common accidents are falls, 45%; being struck or hit by an object, 35%; a strain, 6%; or a cut, 4%, according to the Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance Report, which is published by the Department of Health.
Falls account for 45% of all accidents in Ireland and more women than men suffer from a fall.
Most accidents occur in or around the home, or in a sporting environment.
The main items associated with accidents are sports equipment, house and building tools and materials, outdoor structures and footwear.
Sports equipment is responsible for nearly 40% of all accidents, according to the report.
Kitchen utensils, animals, floors, hot food, toys and laundry equipment are also implicated in many accidents.
The upper limbs, head and face are the parts of the body most frequently injured.
Hot liquids result in the longest hospital stays, and poisoning, burns and fractures are the common injuries which require hospitalisation.
Medicines cause the highest hospitalisation rates, but plants, trees and bushes are involved in more accidents than medicines. Bathroom products are also responsible for long stays in hospital the report says.
The study looked at 8,756 accidents at two major hospitals, Cork University Hospital and Mayo General Hospital.
While the report does caution against extrapolating the figures to provide a national picture, it does say that the hospitals involved in the survey represent a "reasonable cross-section of urban and rural communities".
There were 5,614 accidents recorded involving men and 3,142 involving women.
A large number of accidents occurred in people aged under 25 years.
The study shows that fewer accidents are recorded during the winter months and more accidents occur at weekends.
Provisional figures show there were 1,058 deaths from accidents in 2002.
The main causes were road traffic accidents (32%) and accidental falls (32%).
At least one person in the State sustains a spinal cord injury every week, according to another report published this summer.
The majority of the injuries occur among 18- to 35-year-olds, and road traffic accidents and falls are the main causes, according to the study compiled by Spinal Injuries Ireland,
The injuries are devastating for those affected, with 70% of those sustaining spinal cord injuries not returning to work, the report states.
