In the majority of homes, the garage door is the largest and heaviest moving object. The combination of those two characteristics makes it obvious that a damaged or misused garage door can cause severe injury and even death.
Below you’ll find the list of most common causes of garage door-related injuries in 2007, when the last major study of those injuries was carried out by National Electronic Surveillance System (NEISS). The study was based on hospital data of reported garage door-related injuries. It’s quite probable that the actual number of injuries was greater.
The list of causes develops in a descending order based on the number of injury cases:
- Fingers caught between section joints
- The door fell on the injured person for “whatever reason”
- Doing a DIY project on the garage door
- Sharp edges on the garage door tracks and hardware
- Broken window glass on the garage door
- The garage door spring hit the injured
- Various forms of entrapment
- Racing to beat the door before it closed
- Riding the garage door (especially children)
Remember that you are the key to garage door safety. If you and your family know how to operate and maintain your garage door properly, you will minimize or eliminate the dangers related to it. The key takeaway is that garage door repair is best left to professionals, not only for the best results, but for maximum safety as well. If you need garage door repair in San Diego, remember to contact Rockstar Garage Door Services for the best service at the most competitive rates.
Here are some points you should bear in mind. It’s preferable you go over these with your family members from time to time, especially the young ones.
- Children shouldn’t be allowed to treat the garage door as a toy or playground. They shouldn’t stand, run or play near it. This is most important when the door is open or moving.
- The remote control for the garage door opener should be kept out of reach of children, at least five feet off the ground.
- Avoid standing or walking under a moving garage door.
- Never race to beat the garage door before it closed.
- When the door is moving, have it in sight until it is fully opened or closed. This is to ensure no people or animals are in the vicinity of the moving door.
- Keep fingers away from section joints when the door is moving.
- Have the door professionally inspected once a year by a reputable garage door service.
- Never try to repair a garage door’s springs or cables because they are tense and can cause serious injury and even death. Torsion springs and cables should always be repaired by a trained professional.
If someone has backed into the garage door, it’s highly advisable that you have it inspected by a trained professional. Even if the door seems just fine and without visible damage, the whole system could become misaligned, which could result in premature wear and endangered safety.
