You have been telling us about serious and funny accidents caused by your mobile phones and here is what some of you said

A study in the US has found that since the release of the first iPhone in 2007 phone-related injuries have risen dramatically. The types of injury varied in magnitude from batteries exploding to injuries sustained by walking into a lamppost. The researchers wanted to encourage users to be more aware of the dangers of dividing their attention between tasks, and to educate people on how to prevent such issues.

We asked Guardian readers to respond with their own examples of phone-related injuries and were greeted with tales of punching chairs, football-style saves and black eyes. Here are some of our favourites:

‘My phone went flying and I shattered my elbow’

A year ago I was away for one night on business in Nottingham and I didn’t like the look of the hotel menu so set out to eat at a nice fish restaurant that I knew. Not knowing how to get there I decided to follow Google maps. Unfortunately, I searched the wrong name and ended up following a route far longer than I expected through some dubious looking areas.

After walking for nearly an hour following Google maps (the restaurant was only 10 minutes away from my hotel) I concluded I was lost and headed towards a local tram stop believing it was the quickest route back. Still examining Google maps, I stepped off the kerb, checking for traffic first, only to kick the kerb on the other side and fall straight down. My phone went flying (and smashed) and I shattered my elbow. I gave up my venture in excruciating pain, lost, hungry and with a broken phone all in one night. Robert, 51, director, Swindon

‘I slipped down a steep set of stairs’

One morning I was watching a YouTube video of the Superbowl half-time show where Madonna kissed Britney and Christina. I slipped down a steep set of stairs, taking off most of the skin on my left side and leaving me with a terrible ache in my elbow in cold weather that I now affectionately refer to as “Madonna elbow” whenever it strikes. I learnt a lesson that day! Gwen, 34, lawyer, Liverpool

‘I’m not a professional and the ‘ball’ was a rock solid phone’

I dropped my old iPhone (the big one) and instead of letting it drop to the ground in its case, I tried to cushion the fall by catching it with my foot. My aim was to replicate to some extent how a professional footballer cushions a long ball out of the sky ... the problem is I’m not a professional and the ‘ball’ was a rock solid phone. My foot was in agony for a week but at least my phone screen didn’t break! Rakin, 26, accountant, Hull

‘I ended up dislocating the knuckle of my ring finger and breaking my metacarpal’

In March 2017 I took a phone call, once it ended I hung up and somehow my phone dropped out of my hand. Instinctively I went to catch my phone with my right hand, which managed to do. Unfortunately, in doing so I effectively punched the chair which my phone was falling towards. I dislocated the knuckle of my ring finger and broke my metacarpal. I was in a sling for a week which made for some nice graduation photos three days after the injury. I had to keep my hand in a cast for six weeks. My phone was completely fine though. Samir Gelb, 25, intern, Johannesburg

‘What was less funny was waking up on Christmas day with a huge, swollen black eye’

When I was a teenager two of my friends had classic Nokia brick phones, the indestructible kind. Because of their tough exterior they used to play a game called ‘phone skid’ where they would skim them hard and fast across the ground at each other and try and score points – kind of like a penalty shoot out.

One Christmas Eve, we were out in town and a raucous game of phone skid began. I sat on the kerb to observe the match, when out of nowhere, a Nokia 3310 travelling at light speed ricocheted from the tarmac and hit me square in the face, right on my cheekbone. At the time, though painful, it was hilarious. What was less funny was waking up on Christmas Day with a huge, swollen black eye and having to explain to my family what had happened. Ginny, 24, social media manager, Bristol

‘I found myself in mid-air having just stepped off the wall’

I was talking on my mobile whilst walking along the sea wall in Portland. Suddenly I found myself in mid-air having just stepped off the wall. As it was unexpected, I landed on the pebbled beach stiff-legged which caused me the initial fear that I had broken my legs. Eventually, I managed to crawl back into the pub shamefacedly where friends were meeting and explain what had happened. Luckily I didn’t sustain any long term injury. Anonymous, 62

‘I just ended up pouring the boiling water all over myself’

I was a couple of weeks into my first year of university, and discovering how veritably incompetent I was when it came to performing basic tasks. I was boiling eggs for my lunch one day, very pleased with myself that I’d finally worked how long to wait to get that perfect runny yolk. My mistake was that I was on the phone at the same time, doing that thing you see in 90s movies where they cradle the smartphone between their shoulder and cheek.

I got so involved in bragging about my eggs on the phone that I forgot to take them off the boil, realised this, and rushed to pour the water out of the pan completely haphazardly. But ... I was still trying to hold the phone, so I just ended up pouring the boiling water all over myself. Worst thing was, I stayed on the phone for half an hour maintaining it didn’t hurt that much until my stomach and hand literally started blistering up. So, I finally removed myself from the phone and went and waited three hours in an NHS walk-in centre. I still have the scars, and since then I have not divided my attention between my phone and boiling eggs. Jasmine, 21, student, Sheffield