THE LAST THING YOU NEED – A SLIP & FALL LAWSUIT

Ahh, My Leg!

If you are like any other building or facility manager, lurking in the back of your brain, and what keeps business owners up at night, is the frightening thought of a costly lawsuit as a result of a job-site accident as a result of cutting corners. The ol’ “slip & fall” accident  is one of most easily avoided if you only follow some tips from those who have risen before you.

Have you thought of the floors’ baseline reading vs. it’s “just cleaned” reading?

“Looks like that cleaner you used left a slippery film behind…”

Smells Like a Lawsuit’s A Brewin’

The bottom line isn’t the only thing that gets a beating after every accident. Studies show slips, trips and falls in the workplace are also awful for business in areas of reduced worker productivity, lower morale, worker injuries and even deaths. Luckily, efficiency + safety can go hand in hand. You gotta include both in your operations plan in order to protect number 1 and 2- your own behind and the behinds of your loyal employees, literally.

“My coccyx!”

Some Statistics to Mull Over:

• FALL FATALITIES are almost equally divided between men and women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

• However, more women will experience a SLIP-AND-FALL accidents (BLS).

• FALLS accounted for 5% of the job-related fatalities for women, compared to 11% for men, according to the BLS.

• Floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

• Compensation and medical costs associated with employee slip-and-fall accidents are approximately $70 billion annually, according to National Safety Council Injury Facts, 2003 Edition.

• INJURIES from falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits (21.3 percent). SLIP-AND-FALLS account for over 1 million visits, or 12 percent of all falls, according to the National Floor Safety Institute (NSFI).

• Retail stores and supermarkets spend upward of $450 million, annually, to defend against SLIP-AND-FALL claims (NSFI).

The solution is in the solution

Flooring and walkway experts agree that proper cleaning and maintenance is the most important and impactful strategy that can be done to reduce the risk of such accidents. Factors like your floors’ baseline vs. “just-cleaned” COF readings (coefficient of friction), cleaning equipment, your go-to cleaning solutions, dilution methods, and apres-cleaning procedures (i.e. signage, alerts) are our initial suggestions.

Having a qualified flooring expert come in to do an audit of your facility’s processes is the common-sense solution. Leave it to a professional to figure out how to maintain a safe and clean environment. You can sleep soundly at night again and dream only of bigger and better chapters for your business.

Contact the team today for details on strategies to improve your “oops-i-fell” accident-avoidance policies.

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