25,000 slips and fall accidents occur every day in the U.S. In reality, this figure is larger – for every person who reports an injury from a fall, there’s another three people who have fallen but don’t report it (source). A prevention measure commonly used by management is to implement a safety plan for workers. In this blog post, we will discuss why implementing a fully managed, video surveillance system should be a key component of your business’ strategy in handling slip and fall accidents.
Key Facts about Slip and Fall Accidents
Slips and falls are the second leading accidental cause of fatalities in the U.S. (motor vehicle accidents are number one) (source). Unsafe conditions and a general unawareness of potential risks are two major factors that contribute to slip and fall accidents (source). Furthermore, slip and fall accidents are costly:
- 85% of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors (source).
- 22% of slip and fall incidents resulted in more than 31 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2002).
- Compensation & medical costs associated with slip and fall accidents in the U.S. is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).
- The average cost of a slip and fall accident is $22,800 (or £17,700).
- Fraudulent slip and falls claims culture costs business in the UK more than half a billion per year (HSE).
- Customer walkways are a major problem area: Only 31 percent of respondents reported placing floor mats in customer walkways, although nearly one in four (24 percent) experienced falls in those area (source).
Mitigating Slip and Fall Risks
If a slip and fall accident occurs in your place of business, you could have a difficult time defending your operations if due diligence has not been carried out in providing a safe environment for customers and employees. In order to effectively protect employee and customers, slip and fall prevention must be viewed holistically – when evaluating floor safety, business should take an entire-facility view. For instance, perform walkway audits and produce safety planograms to help mitigate risks. Should a slip and fall accident occur and your business faces litigation, having a clear video recording of the event will be highly advantageous. Therefore, business should be securely storing their video surveillance data in the cloud as a solution for claims management.