A very common accident in the workplace is one involving a slip and fall. Someone who slips and falls who is older could break their hip, their wrist, or damage their elbow. They might even crack their head on the sidewalk along with getting cuts and bruises. Even a minor visit to a local Urgent Care neighborhood office could turn into an ambulance ride to the main hospital for more x-rays and more tests. These things can run you up to $20,000 before you even turn around or realize an accident occurred. Okay so let’s talk.
There are many ways to prevent workplace slip and falls. Nonskid flooring helps, and it’s not just your employees you have to worry about. What about the customers in your store, your vendors doing deliveries. If your back door is too heavy or there is too much of a slope for the hand trucks that your vendors used to wheel in the merchandise can cause them to trip up and fall. Employees using ladders in the stock room or trying to carry too much while they are off-balance is another common cause of slip and fall accidents.
Then there are the fake falls with employees trying to get out of work, as they go to their attorney who refers them to their best friend a contract chiropractor to render that employee disabled. Before you know it they’ve already filed a lawsuit, and they probably hope to settle out-of-court with your insurance company. Still, there are some insurance companies that try to get out of it, and attorneys they will go after the business owner and the company. This is quite common in our litigious society.
Employees are not the only ones who fake falls, there’s a whole group of people out there who purposely slip on sidewalks, trip on entryways, and just happened to have their best friend with them who happens to catch it all on their video smart phone. This does wonders on a jury, and the insurance companies defending you generally will settle out-of-court. When they do, they will pay off the claim, but you can bet that your liability insurance will be increased the following year.
It makes sense to have warning signs when there is uneven concrete; “watch your step” or any time there is water or liquid on the floor putting out one of those yellow cones warning people to walk around the slippery area makes sense. There are so many simple things you can do, and if you are alert you can prevent these accidents or fake fall lawsuits from getting out of control. Please consider all this and think on it.