If you’re the owner of a business, you know the last thing you want is for a customer or employee to slip and fall on your property. When a worker is hurt, your unemployment insurance premiums go up. When a customer is hurt, you can pay big in a personal injury lawsuit. Slip-proofing your property is an ounce of cure that’s worth a pound of prevention.
Work environments are the places where common slip and fall accidents occur. Apart from employees of an organization forming the biggest number of parties likely to be affected by slip and fall accidents, your clients, and other visitors coming to your workplace can be victims.
Slip and fall accidents often lead to serious injuries and even death. Statistics conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration point toward slip and fall accidents as among the leading causes of accidental deaths.
What are the main causes of slip and fall accidents?
Do you know what to look out for in your business? Slip and fall accidents can result from various causes, which include:
- Rugs laying loosely on the floor might
- Wet floor
- Stairs and ramps
- Uneven flooring
- Unmarked stairs
- Unsecured cords
- Items in walkways
As an employer, you have a legal obligation to ensure that you provide a safe working environment for your employees. A lawsuit for a slip and fall accident can negatively impact your business, leading to financial distress or even loss of reputation.
Research conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proves that slip and fall accidents can be prevented. Therefore, you must find ways to prevent them in your business.
On the prevention of slip and fall accidents
Follow these tips to make your workplace as safe and hazard-free as possible.
Invest in safe workplace design and equipment
As an employer, designing your workplace to fit your taste and standards without paying attention to the risk the design can cause may lead to legal repercussions. Of course you are going to design your workplace in a way that is pleasing to you, but also ensure the workspace is safe and an accident-free area.
The high traffic areas within your business premises can cause accidents. Poor lighting and loose rails along the staircase are among the leading contributing factors of slip and fall accidents. Ensure that the lighting along your staircase is sufficient to enable your employees and customers to watch their step. The handrails should also be strong enough to support the users of the staircase.
In the case of wet or slippery floors, non-slip mats can always help keep high traffic areas accident-free. Avoid having tiny mats in the workplace since they pause as accident risks for slip and fall accidents. Invest in large mats that cover a large workspace area to minimize the accident rate.
Provide safe footwear
If you run a business whose operations result in wet or slippery floors from time to time, providing your employees with safety footwear can help prevent slip and fall accidents. Always ensure that the footwear you invest in has good traction to help have a firm grip when walking across surfaces.
Purchase proper working equipment
Equipment like a step stool or ladder can help prevent unnecessary falls. In situations where an employee has to use a chair or table to facilitate a task that needs climbing, falling, and subsequently sustaining injuries is almost inevitable.
Training
Training is one of the leading ways employers can minimize the number of slip and fall accidents. When employees are aware of the workplace’s safety measures, they will always be better placed to exercise care. Suppose you run a business that involves machinery movement within the business premises; your employees need to learn how to handle the machines safely, hence limiting accidents and subsequent injuries.
Contact a slip and fall attorney
As much as slip and fall accidents are rampant, they are also preventable. If you are looking to learn more about slip and fall accidents and how to best prevent them, contact a slip and fall attorney for guidance.
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