Friends

A slick kitchen floor from cooking splatter or spills, a dog startled by visiting children, a loose step that everyone in the family knows to avoid. At Thanksgiving, familiar household flaws can become serious hazards for people who have never set foot in the home. If someone gets hurt, the legal question is rarely as simple as who owns the property.

The scale of seasonal risk is substantial. In a November 2025 advisory, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported an average of 1,400 cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day, more than three times the daily average. That number describes fires, not lawsuits, but it shows how quickly a busy holiday kitchen can turn dangerous.