The weird and wild ACC claims

You’d be amazed at how the most innocuous activities on a group night out can end in injury.

Jame Funnell, ACC

With the pre-wedding party season in full swing it could be a good time to remind stag and hen party revellers about the dangers of getting too merry while seeing Sharon or Wayne off on a life of marital bliss.

Figures released by ACC - the national insurer - under the Official Information Act show over the past two years it paid out $66,215 in claims to 51 people for injuries ranging from concussion to general strains and sprains.

In 2016 some 22 people claimed $13,458, in 2017 $52,757 was claimed by 29 people.

ACC spokesman James Funnell said overall there were a raft of injuries suffered while either dancing or involved in playing games - falling, being tackled or knocked over by accident as well as a few slips, trips and falls not attributed to any specific activity.

‘‘So quite a few strains and sprains to knees, ankles, wrists, necks and shoulders,’’ Funnell said.

There were also a small number of concussions; some cuts, and a few chipped teeth and a handful of more serious injuries, but generally most were minor, only requiring limited medical treatment such as a visit to the doctor or accident and emergency, he said.

ACC derived the data by doing a free-text search for hen/s party, hen/s do, and hen/s night; bridal shower and bridal party; and stag party, stag do, and stag night which included filtering out a couple of claims related to shooting the other stag - the adult male deer.

Perhaps as a nod to the perception that men can indulge in riskier behaviour than women the phrase ‘stag do’ got the most mentions in accident descriptions.

‘‘You’d be amazed at how the most innocuous activities on a group night out can end in injury and that’s not counting pole dancing, dancing on the tables, or impromptu games of leap-frog.

‘‘We want people to have fun, but if you are drinking alcohol, remember the more you drink, the greater the risk of injury.

‘‘Ideally set a limit on your drinking (and your pole dancing) and stick to it; pace yourself with non-alcoholic drinks; eat a substantial meal, and most importantly, look after your mates,’’ Funnell said.

Tim Evans, director of Auckland-based stag and hen party organisers GirlzWeekend/ BoyzWeekend said he was not surprised at the number of ACC claims for stag and hen related activities.

There were two main reasons for the low injury rate in parties organised by the business - group physical activities had generally been run over by occupational health and safety ‘‘with a fine tooth comb’’ to minimise the chance of injury and ‘‘by the time our revellers start sustaining selfinflicted injuries they’ve already had enough beer or wine to dampen down effects of any blunt force trauma,’’ Evans quipped.

With nine years’ experience in the stag and hen party industry the business had developed a few golden rules for its clients.

‘‘Always eat throughout the day and into the evening. A barbecue in between activities and a pub meal in the early evening will see you right for the rest of the evening and into the next day.

‘‘Always look out for your mates, and respect others you come into contact with… we know it’s a stag do and your best mate’s rite of passage into marital bliss, but a mankini is not always funny, especially if you are somewhere there are young families,’’ Evans said.

‘‘And finally, know when to say ‘yeah, nah’.’’