Wairarapa's toll - 7 killed, 5832 injured | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Accidents in Wairarapa homes killed seven people and injured almost 6000 people last year, figures published by the Accident Compensation Corporation reveal.

The statistics, released to coincide with Safety NZ Week, show slips, trips and falls last year caused all the deaths and most of the injuries to 5832 people in their homes throughout the region.

The cost of treatment and rehabilitation for Wairarapa home injuries was $6 million last year, ACC spokeswoman Fiona Robinson said.

She said there were 300 motor vehicle injury claims and 2333 sports-related claims in Wairarapa last year, which together amounted to less than half the home injury claims recorded in the region over the same period.

"The home injuries, including those that resulted in death, were mostly caused by falls, trips or slips - from ladders, in bathrooms, on deckings or on polished wood floors - all over the home," she said.

Keith McLea, ACC general manager injury prevention, said: "The tragedy is that many of these accidents could have been avoided.

"The reality is, something as simple as remembering to flick the light switch on when you use the stairs, can help you avoid a fall," Mr McLea said.

Masterton recorded five deaths and 3658 new claims last year involving home accident injuries, while Carterton registered 755 new claims citing home injuries, and South Wairarapa posted 1419 new claims and recorded the deaths of two people from injuries received in home accidents for the same period.

Mr McLea said the most dangerous regions in New Zealand were Northland and Hawke's Bay, according to ACC home injury claims, where one in five people received a home injury. Waikato and Taranaki were second and third worst regions respectively, and the regions with the safest homes were Southland and Marlborough.

Auckland was the city with the highest number of injuries in the home per capita, ahead of Napier and Tauranga. There were 128,427 home claims in Auckland City in 2009 and 146 deaths, Mr McLea said.

The statistics show one in seven, or 632,920 people, were injured in their homes last year across New Zealand, down from 664,334 in 2008. A total of 621 people died from their injuries, he said, which was an increase of 17 deaths from 2008.

Mr McLea said that while the reduction in overall home injury numbers was pleasing, the increase in deaths was alarming.

He said $622 million was paid nationally through ACC for the treatment and rehabilitation of people injured in their homes last year. Alcohol is "conservatively estimated" to be a contributing factor in almost a quarter of all ACC claims.