Does Your Business Meet OSHA, ADA , ASTM & NFSI Floor Slip Resistance Standards?
What is a slip and fall?
As far as lawsuits go, a slip and fall is any instance of individual injury after falling on someone else’s property. In order for a slip and fall case to hold together, there must be proof that the fall was caused by the property owner’s negligence or that the fall could have been prevented if the property owner had been more diligent with their property upkeep.
Here are the potential costs of not being in compliance…
Lawsuits can cost millions:
• In Rockford, IL., a jury awarded a man $1 million, after he slipped on a wet floor at the Steam Plant Restaurant and sustained multiple broken bones.
• The Supreme Court awarded a man’s wife $2 million after he slipped on a hospital floor, suffered a head injury and died.
• A New York City doorman who received $6 million from the NYC subway system, after he slipped and fell on subway steps, resulting in permanent and disabling injuries that prevented him from performing his duties as a doorman. The jury ruled that it was the responsibility of NYC subway to keep train steps safe and clean.
• $450,000.00 Slip and Fall Settlement for a man who sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of a slip and fall accident. The client fell and struck his head on a recently washed concrete floor that was still wet at the time of the accident
Fines can be costly as well:
• If can be determined by the Justice Department that the surface is in violation, when "feasible" measures could have been taken, a fine of up to $50,000 can be imposed for the first violation and $100,000 for each violation thereafter. These fines do not include punitive damages.
In either instance, the burden of proof is on the business, to prove the practiced "DUE DILIGENCE" when in keeping floors clean and safe. Get a Grip Safety Surfaces products demonstrate DUE DILIGENCE, and provide you with documentation of before and after conditions.
Slips and Falls…
• Slips and Falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits and half of all accidental deaths each year.
• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year.
• 85% of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors (Industrial Safety & Occupational Health Markets 5th edition)
• Are the primary cause of lost work days, workers’ comp claims and workplace injury for workers 55 years and older.
• Twenty-two percent of slip and fall incidents resulted in more than 31 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002).
• Compensation and medical costs associated with employee slip and fall accidents is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).
• According to the American Trucking Association, slips and falls are the leading cause of injury in the trucking industry
Business Safety
Slip and fall accidents are some of the most common accidents you can have as a business owner. Slip and fall constitutes the majority of general industry accidents. They cause 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities. You have customers, clients, vendors, employees, and family members on your premises every day. “Slip and fall” is a term used for a personal injury case in which a person slips or trips and is injured on someone else’s property. These cases usually fall under the broader category of cases known as “premises liability” claims. Slip and fall accidents usually occur on property owned or maintained by someone else, and the property owner may be held legally responsible.
A slip and fall judgment can produce payouts that range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several million. In typical cases where the injury is short-term and not life-altering, settlements of $10,000-$15,000 are common. Multi-million dollar settlements can occur when negligence was particularly profound.
According to the 2016 National Safety Council report, the average costs for a slip/fall incident was $31,788 for a knee injury, $26,357 for an ankle injury, and $24,964 for a foot or toe injury. This doesn’t include the cost of reduced productivity, training a replacement worker, OSHA fines, and increase in insurance premiums. There are also costs to the employee, including lost wages, pain, potential disability or emotional disorder, and even death.
Slips and falls are bad for business. Whether they occur on your premises or at a job location, on-site injuries are disruptive. Injuries also have a negative psychological effect on employees and customers. Employees who witnessed an accident or who attended to the victim may be distracted for hours or days afterward. If an employee is injured, you may need to hire and train a replacement until the injured worker returns. Moreover, news of a slip and fall injury can damage your company's reputation. People who hear about the accident may assume that you run an unsafe operation. In addition, slip and fall claims can impact your workers compensation and general liability premiums.
Slip and falls and the nation’s elderly
• One of every three persons over the age of 65 will experience a fall
• More than 15,000 people over the age of 65 die annually as a result of a fall (doubled last 10 yrs).
• 1.8 million people over the age of 65 were treated in an emergency room as a result of a fall.
• For people aged 65-84 years, falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death; for those aged 85 years or older, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.
• Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people over the age of 65 and are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury.
• Half of all elderly adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for hip fractures cannot return home or live independently after the fracture.
• Falls represent 40% of all nursing home admissions.
• More than 60% of nursing homes residents will fall each year.
Source: National Floor Safety Institute
As far as lawsuits go, a slip and fall is any instance of individual injury after falling on someone else’s property. In order for a slip and fall case to hold together, there must be proof that the fall was caused by the property owner’s negligence or that the fall could have been prevented if the property owner had been more diligent with their property upkeep.
Here are the potential costs of not being in compliance…
Lawsuits can cost millions:
• In Rockford, IL., a jury awarded a man $1 million, after he slipped on a wet floor at the Steam Plant Restaurant and sustained multiple broken bones.
• The Supreme Court awarded a man’s wife $2 million after he slipped on a hospital floor, suffered a head injury and died.
• A New York City doorman who received $6 million from the NYC subway system, after he slipped and fell on subway steps, resulting in permanent and disabling injuries that prevented him from performing his duties as a doorman. The jury ruled that it was the responsibility of NYC subway to keep train steps safe and clean.
• $450,000.00 Slip and Fall Settlement for a man who sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of a slip and fall accident. The client fell and struck his head on a recently washed concrete floor that was still wet at the time of the accident
Fines can be costly as well:
• If can be determined by the Justice Department that the surface is in violation, when "feasible" measures could have been taken, a fine of up to $50,000 can be imposed for the first violation and $100,000 for each violation thereafter. These fines do not include punitive damages.
In either instance, the burden of proof is on the business, to prove the practiced "DUE DILIGENCE" when in keeping floors clean and safe. Get a Grip Safety Surfaces products demonstrate DUE DILIGENCE, and provide you with documentation of before and after conditions.
Slips and Falls…
• Slips and Falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits and half of all accidental deaths each year.
• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year.
• 85% of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors (Industrial Safety & Occupational Health Markets 5th edition)
• Are the primary cause of lost work days, workers’ comp claims and workplace injury for workers 55 years and older.
• Twenty-two percent of slip and fall incidents resulted in more than 31 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002).
• Compensation and medical costs associated with employee slip and fall accidents is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).
• According to the American Trucking Association, slips and falls are the leading cause of injury in the trucking industry
Business Safety
Slip and fall accidents are some of the most common accidents you can have as a business owner. Slip and fall constitutes the majority of general industry accidents. They cause 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities. You have customers, clients, vendors, employees, and family members on your premises every day. “Slip and fall” is a term used for a personal injury case in which a person slips or trips and is injured on someone else’s property. These cases usually fall under the broader category of cases known as “premises liability” claims. Slip and fall accidents usually occur on property owned or maintained by someone else, and the property owner may be held legally responsible.
A slip and fall judgment can produce payouts that range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several million. In typical cases where the injury is short-term and not life-altering, settlements of $10,000-$15,000 are common. Multi-million dollar settlements can occur when negligence was particularly profound.
According to the 2016 National Safety Council report, the average costs for a slip/fall incident was $31,788 for a knee injury, $26,357 for an ankle injury, and $24,964 for a foot or toe injury. This doesn’t include the cost of reduced productivity, training a replacement worker, OSHA fines, and increase in insurance premiums. There are also costs to the employee, including lost wages, pain, potential disability or emotional disorder, and even death.
Slips and falls are bad for business. Whether they occur on your premises or at a job location, on-site injuries are disruptive. Injuries also have a negative psychological effect on employees and customers. Employees who witnessed an accident or who attended to the victim may be distracted for hours or days afterward. If an employee is injured, you may need to hire and train a replacement until the injured worker returns. Moreover, news of a slip and fall injury can damage your company's reputation. People who hear about the accident may assume that you run an unsafe operation. In addition, slip and fall claims can impact your workers compensation and general liability premiums.
Slip and falls and the nation’s elderly
• One of every three persons over the age of 65 will experience a fall
• More than 15,000 people over the age of 65 die annually as a result of a fall (doubled last 10 yrs).
• 1.8 million people over the age of 65 were treated in an emergency room as a result of a fall.
• For people aged 65-84 years, falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death; for those aged 85 years or older, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.
• Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people over the age of 65 and are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury.
• Half of all elderly adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for hip fractures cannot return home or live independently after the fracture.
• Falls represent 40% of all nursing home admissions.
• More than 60% of nursing homes residents will fall each year.
Source: National Floor Safety Institute