Slip and Fall

Slips Accidents due to Negligence in a Workplace

Slips Accidents due to Negligence in a Workplace  Slips, trips, and falls are the three most common and active accidents that could occur to almost every workplace in the world. One may be situated in a factory, fastfood chain, or even in casual office, he/she is not safe as the threat or tendency of slips, trips and falls. The existence of the threat is everywhere because of its factors are highly available such as human error and surface imperfections. After a fall, consequences are unpredictable since injuries scales from none to serious injuries depending on the scenario. Frequency of Slips, Trips, and Falls in Work place These frequency and tendency of the said occurrence are based on series of observation by National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI):
  • Men and women has equal number of victims of cases of fatal fall accidents. Though, women are more likely to experience slip-fall accidents compared to men because according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 5% of the job-related falls that resulted fatalities are accounted to women compared to 11% for men.
  • Over 8 million hospital emergency room visits are for patients who are victims of fall accidents or 21.3% out of 100% of the visits. Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits, or 12% of total falls.
  • 5% of all individuals who experienced fall accident are subjected to sustain fractures.
  • Though, slips and falls do not cause of fatal occupational injuries, but it is the primary cause of lost days from work.
  • Household falls as well happen and it is the most frequent type of accident inside homes.
  • According to the CDC, in 2005, an estimation of more than 15,000 elderly aged 65 and above died because of fall accidents. A significant increase from 7,700 a decade earlier.
  • According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year.
Causes of Slips, Trips and Falls in Work Place These are some of the most common causes of the accident based on observations and recent experiences by most victims:
So, what are the main causes of slips, trips, and falls?
  • Uneven walking surfaces – can be unexpected to most people who walks on it as they believe that it is flat and their walking levels with the floor until one uneven tile or spot that may block their step and can cause trips.
  • Bad Floor Coverings  – Bad floor coverings cause air bubble that can as well cause trips to those who walks right into it.
  • Wet/slippery floors – Most trips and slips are cause by slippery floors and has the worst consequences like fractures and face injuries as it render the person unexpectedly loose balance.
  • Changes in levels – A sudden change of floor levels has the similar effect of uneven walking surface, aside from closed injuries sustained from a trips caused by an unexpected changes in levels, lower limbs can accumulate injuries too like bruises and alike.
  • Poor keeping of the workplace – Scattered cablings, unattended materials, and bad lighting and warnings can cause slips, trips, and falls. Unsuspecting victims that hasn’t been warned about the materials around the walking surface can catch them offguard and cause an accident and it scales depending on the items are lying on the floor at the moment.
How can employer reduce the risk of encountering such accidents? A risk assessment by a professional in the general work place hired by the employer would be the first step as an identifying hazards to further the establishment of countermeasures in a specific workplace. Some of the other notable and effective way to mitigate the risks are:
  • Staple warnings for wet surface, dangerous items lying ahead, or beware of things being hung to alert workers passing by and leave them to expect things to react appropriately.
  • Isolation of spillage and other materials that has been accidentally mishandled by using railing or signage and let the appropriate staff to take care of it.
  • Giving seminars for workers regarding handing out proper dealings about every different materials and how to handle situations when there is no other worker up for the job in taking care of it.
What if a worker sustained a significant damage because of negligence? If a worker thinks that the accident that happened to him that caused him to sustained injury is due to an employer’s negligence, he is eligible to file a workers’ compensation pay. Negligence is a notion that refers to ignoring employees’ health and safety while inside the work space such as not following Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for workers and the previously mentioned risk mitigating steps. Hiring an injury lawyer can swiften up the litigation process as they works everything for your convinience. They represent your case and gather enough evidences to win against your employer’s insurer. Ryan Injury Lawyers is an Ohio based injury law firm that has been in the field for more than 40 years. Call our offices now for free legal consultation.