How to Prevent Slip and Fall Injuries
A majority of slip and fall injury cases that come to trial in the United States could have been prevented with a little caution and commonsense. Certain injuries are due to the negligence, carelessness, and poor concentration of the injured person. This might be due to the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs and the owner of the premises cannot be legally held responsible for such accidents.
The owner or person responsible for managing a property might be sued for premises liability if a customer, employee or any individual has a slip and fall injury on his property. Employers need to pay attention to the working conditions and ensure that safety procedures are in place. Otherwise they will have to face workers compensation lawsuits that will drain the company’s finances.
Apart from employers it is the also the legal duty of employees and customers to stay alert and be aware of the surroundings. Apart from workplace precautions, certain preventive measures need to be taken in the home to ensure that infants and elderly people do not get injured in slip and fall accidents.
Local or federal governments need to pay due attention to proper safety measures during construction of facilities that are used by the general public like roads, train stations, airports, parks, museums, hospitals etc to prevent accidents. Some of the preventive measures that can be adopted to reduce the incidence of slip and fall accidents are:
* Floors should be made of material that will ensure proper traction. If the flooring has been recently polished or mopped a little while ago warning signs should be placed at a strategic location to ensure that passersby take note of it.
* Cracks or holes in the flooring should be repaired. If food or water has spilled on the flooring it should be cleaned immediately or the area cordoned off with a warning sign.
* Care should be taken to ensure that edges of carpets and rugs are not folded as people’s feet might get stuck in them resulting in a fall.
* Hallways, stairways and work stations should be sufficiently illuminated.
* Proper footwear should be worn and walking with gentle strides is recommended to ensure proper grip. Never run or jump especially if there has been snowfall or rain. Sidewalks should be sprayed with rock salt after heavy snowfall.
* Stairways should have handrails. Wheelchair ramps with proper railing should be provided.
* If your property has lot of footfalls in a day staff should be appointed to periodically remove the debris that accumulates during the course of a day.
* Repair and maintenance work should never be carried out during business hours and if it is inevitable warning signs should be posted at proper locations.
* Ensure that there are no leaks in the ceiling as that could make the floor wet and result in accidents
Pay proper attention to your surroundings. Never allow yourself to get distracted while walking. Majority of slip and fall accidents can be averted with little care and adequate precaution.