Time and time again personal injury attorneys see slip and fall cases come across their desks, and they are the most common cases which these firms deal with. I was chatting with a slip and fall attorney recently and I was keen to know what the most common reasons were for such incidents. The attorney told me that more often than not these events happen inside the workplace, and in most cases, they are very easily avoidable. If you are running a business then avoiding this kind of incident is very easy to do, and first, you need to understand how most slips and falls occur, let’s take a look.
Improper Training
You would think that training people properly to do their job and use any necessary equipment and machinery would be a given, yet it is in fact a very common reason behind slips and falls. To this end, the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Safety have an event together with a fact sheet that demonstrates just how easy it is to prevent slips and falls with training.
Weather Conditions
Whilst nobody is able to control the weather, businesses do have a legal responsibility to ensure that their premises are as safe as possible for both workers and to the public. Clearing snow and from entrances and warehouses, ensuring that standing water is removed, and putting salt on icy surfaces are all easy ways to prevent these incidents.
Wet Surfaces
One of the most common reasons for slips and falls in the workplace is wet surfaces, in fact, these make up 55% of all slip and fall claims. Wet surfaces are usually as a result of cleaning or spillage, and it is important that all businesses have a plan of attack when it comes to how they manage such incidents. Cleaning teams should always be on hand and employees should be fully aware of the protocols they have to take when they see or cause a spillage. A wet floor sign is enough to prove that the business did all that it could to help avoid a slip or trip, and would no longer make them liable. That is how easy it can be to avoid.
Poor Footwear
Poor quality footwear actually makes up 24% of all slip and fall claims. This is exactly why all companies should ensure that they provide the appropriate footwear for the job. If this is not the case then at the very least the employer should ensure that they are checking the footwear of their staff and giving them clear direction as to what sort of footwear they should be used in the workplace.
As you can see from these most common slip and fall reasons, avoiding such events really isn’t difficult for employers to do. The key is to focus on the importance of these kinds of incidents and have a plan in place to prevent them from happening.
