Slip and Fall Lawsuit Prevention
Insurance and Liability Concerns for Property Owners and Managers

As many as one million people suffer slip, trip or fall injuries each year. Of the estimated 3.8 million disabling injuries in the work force, 15 percent are due to slips, trips, or falls, which account
for 12 to 15 percent of all Workers’ Compensation costs, according to the University of Florida. About 5,100 workers died from a fall in 1999.

The average direct cost for one disabling injury now approaches $28,000. Conservative estimates of indirect costs are significantly higher at $46,000. In the case of a death on the job, the average
cost has recently been estimated at $940,000. Add to these the personal and family costs and trauma, and it is evident that slips, trips and falls should be avoided.

There are two basic types of falls: Elevated falls and same-level falls. Same level falls are most frequent, but elevated falls are more severe. Same-level falls are generally slips or trips. Injury results when the individual hits a walking or working surface or strikes some other object during the fall.
Over 60 percent of elevated falls are from less than 10 feet.

A “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” is the generic term for an injury which occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property. It
includes falls as a result of water, ice or snow, as well as abrupt changes in flooring,
poor lighting, or a hidden hazard, such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground.

If you are on someone else’s property and injure yourself as a result of a dangerous condition on the property, the landowner or business proprietor may be liable for your injuries. If you are a property
owner and someone injures himself on your land, you may find yourself legally responsible for his or her injuries.

Property owners are responsible for injuries that occur as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on their property, which the owner knew about, or should have known about. The hazard
may be obvious (such as a broken stair) or hidden (like a hole in a lawn that is partially covered by grass).

In some instances it may not be apparent, as in flooring, which appears normal, but is slippery. It could be permanent, like broken concrete with a change in elevation, or temporary, like
a liquid spill in a supermarket aisle.

In general, an owner will be considered to have knowledge of a dangerous or hazardous condition if it is permanent in nature, since the owner knew, or should have known, about the condition before the incident occurs.

In the case of temporary conditions (like a liquid spill), the length of time that the condition existed before the incident occurred has legal significance. If the spill occurred just before the incident,
then the property owner may not be liable for injury, since the owner could not have known about the spill (and would not have been able to do anything about it) before the slip and fall occurred. However, if the spill was pre sent for some period of time before the incident, or occurs in an area subject to
liquid spills, or is a recurring event (“every time they wash the floor someone slips”) then the owner may be liable, even if the owner did not know about the spill before it occurred.

Monitor your business property for potentially dangerous or hazardous conditions. Water, ice and snow are often the cause of injuries, so be careful if your property has those conditions. If
your property has other defects that could cause someone to trip and fall, repair them.

Some insurance carriers will provide a free consultation to reduce potential hazards on your property. You may also want to have an architect or contractor walk through your property if you feel
that it may contain hazards.

(If you take any of the above steps, however, don’t ignore the expert’s suggestions. Remember, you’re on notice) Of course, if there have been accidents on your property you are also on notice should there later be a similar accident.

If someone has slipped and fallen on your property, promptly notify your insurance carrier. Most insurance policies have a requirement that your notify the insurance company of any potential claim within a very short period of time after the incident occurs.

If you feel that the person who fell was careless or inattentive, you may want to take the names of any witnesses who saw the incident occur. You’ll also want to document conditions, with your
own photographs, as soon after the incident as possible – especially if you are free from blame.

You may also want to stay in contact with the injured guests, and keep track of their statements. Sometimes a person will change his or her story after they have spoken with friends or an attorney,
and early statements may be more accurate than later ones.

Finally, if the slip and fall occurred as a result of a permanent condition on your property, fix it. You are now on notice of a potentially dangerous condition.

If others injure themselves as a result of the same condition, you’ll be even more likely to be held liable for their injuries.

Special anti-slip flooring or matting can reduce slipping accidents. If installed properly, these mats are useful, but workers may find that their feet burn and feel sore. The non-slip properties of the flooring
mat cause their shoes to grab suddenly on the flooring making their feet slide forward inside the shoes. Friction inside the shoes produces heat that creates soreness and, eventually, calluses.
A non-slip resilient insole can reduce this discomfort.

Proper footwear is important, not only for foot comfort but also for one’s general well being. Improper footwear can cause or aggravate existing foot problems. Unfortunately, being fashionable sometimes takes precedence over choosing well-fitting, supportive safety footwear. However, many safety
footwear manufacturers produce safety footwear that does look fashionable.

Slips, Trips and Falls
To reduce the number of slips, trips and falls at your workplace, make sure you understand why they happen and use properly designed workspaces and work methods.

It is amazing we do not fall more often than we do. As our legs swing forward each time we take a step, our toe rushes past the ground at a speed of 14 to 18 km/hr and is often less than 1 cm
above it. And as we land our heel, it normally slips forward along the ground for a distance of up to 2 cm without causing us to lose our balance.

Slips most commonly occur when your back heel strikes the ground and you transfer your body weight to the lead foot. If this foot slips out from under you, you lose your support base and fall. Although you may often manage to recover from slips, you can easily strain muscles while trying to regain
your balance.

Many lower back injuries occur when a person carrying or lifting an object tries to recover from a slip or loss of balance.

To Prevent Slips:
• Wear appropriate footwear and keep walking surfaces clean.
• Using high resistance surfaces as the answer to every slipping problem should be avoided — they can increase the potential for trips.
• Walking surfaces should be suitable for the pushing, pulling and carrying tasks performed on them. They should provide adequate foot grip but allow wheels to roll freely. Rough, deeply textured surfaces may reduce the potential for slips but increase the potential for trips.

Trips
Trips are caused when your forward moving leg suddenly and unexpectedly stops. Your body continues its forward motion but hasn’t a foot on which to land, so you fall.

Abrupt changes in the height of a walking surface present a tripping hazard, even if the change is as little as 1 cm.

Making the transition from a low-slip resistance surface such as a sand-covered loading ramp to a high-slip resistance surface such as a clean, dry, asphalt pad, can also cause you to trip.
Make a point of adapting your walk to the surface.

To Prevent Trips:
• Keep as few objects as possible on walking and working surfaces.
• Eliminate abrupt changes in walking surface height.
• Where possible, replace stairs with ramps between levels. Be aware that when a ramp angle increases to as much as 20 degrees, the friction or slip resistance of the surface must increase
approximately threefold in order to prevent slips.

Falls
In 2002, 15.5 percent of an Alberta, Canada workplace lost time claims were the result of falls (9.1 percent – fall on same level; 5.2 percent – fall to lower level; 1.2 percent – other falls). The
severity of falls is often underestimated; serious injuries or death can result from fall of less than 3 meters. Unsafe ladder use, particularly in construction and maintenance, causes falls, but even stairs
present a hazard.

People lose their balance, slip on poor slip-resistant material on the nose of the stair, or don’t bother to use handrails, perhaps because they’re carrying something.

Falls associated with the operation of vehicles and equipment are often the result of a combination of slip, loss of balance and misjudging surface or step height.

To prevent such falls, take care to get out of equipment safely, maintaining a three-point contact and using handles when available.

Falls from Elevated Surfaces
Falls from elevated work surfaces are often preceded by slips and trips. Apply the same prevention methods to elevated surfaces as for slips and trips on level surfaces.

Include railings, guardrails, travel restraint or fall arrest systems where necessary. FSM