I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up

Slip and fall accidents may be funny when you’re watching Tom & Jerry or the Three Stooges, but in real life they are a major safety issue. Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common and preventable workplace injuries. According to Statistics Canada, falls are the leading cause of serious injury, accounting for 34 per cent of injuries in males and 43 percent of injuries in females. In 12 to 64-yearolds, a slip or trip incident was the cause of 40 per cent of falls in males and 45 per cent in females, according to Statistics Canada. ¹ In an ideal world with dry, clean walking surfaces and proper footwear, most slip and falls could be eliminated. However, the world is far from ideal, filled with hazards that surround us every day. Most slip and fall incidents can be prevented with basic precautions that are simple and cost effective.

Floors with a naturally low slip resistance when wet are often a factor in slip and fall incidents. The selection of such floor surfaces should be discouraged or minimized to the extent possible. Polished stone floor surfaces such as granite or marble can be treated with a nonslip treatment to increase slip resistance when wet. The use of properly selected floor mats in strategically-placed locations can also help prevent falls in such cases.

Of course, the preferable alternative is to use one of the many commercially- available floor surfaces that are slip-resistant when wet, while still in the construction or renovation stage. The floor of a produce aisle covered in lettuce debris and mist spray was tested and surprisingly the ridged tile floor was not slippery at all, even with the obvious lack of maintenance. Now that is a proactive way to design safety into your facility and reduce claims! One international franchise has already specified that all of their franchisees must use a particular high-texture tile for their bathrooms due to its excellent slip-resistant properties when wet. Proactive measures such as this allow insurers to take a much more rigid stance when dealing with slip and fall claims. The small additional short-term costs in materials greatly outweighs the long-term legal costs associated with handling and settling claims, especially given the increasing trend in claim size.

Inspection and maintenance of public floor areas on a regular basis is another critical factor in preventing slip and fall incidents. Floor areas that are likely to become contaminated during day-to-day use should be regularly inspected and cleaned properly to minimize the likelihood of a fall. The more likely the floor is to become contaminated, the more frequently the inspections should be carried out. Proper documentation of such inspection and cleaning is critical in litigation to demonstrate ‘reasonable’ efforts and ‘due diligence.’

Unfortunately, even if a floor surface is kept reasonably slip-resistant, slips and falls can still occur for a variety of external reasons. Most notable among these is improper footwear and a corresponding lack of adjustment to the conditions. For example, plastic cleats, high heels, worn-out treads, brand new dress shoes and previously-contaminated treads can all lead to slip and fall accidents on otherwise ‘safe’ walking surfaces.

Plastic cleats provide excellent slip-resistance while on the fairways but generally provide reduced slip-resistance on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete pathways. This requires an additional degree of caution when transitioning from the fairways to the pathways, especially on wet or sloped paths. Metal cleats offered significantly better slip-resistance on pathways but are being restricted from an increasing number of golf courses today.

High heeled shoes offset one’s postural balance due to the need to shift one’s weight forward onto the ball of the feet while adjusting the spine rearward to compensate. This foot position and the narrow heel width make it difficult to recover from the onset of a slip. To make things worse, the bottoms of brand new heels typically have poor slip-resistance. The most stylish high heeled shoes may look fabulous, but may also result in an awful injury.

Slips and falls are unfortunate, costly incidents that can be prevented with appropriate flooring, maintenance, footwear, and pedestrian adjustments to the conditions. Many people sustain serious injuries due to slips and falls that are unnecessary and preventable. By implementing certain precautionary measures, many of these injuries can be prevented.

Michelle Livingstone, P. Eng., is a forensic investigator at Giffin Koerth Forensic Engineering and Science specializing in slips and falls, friction testing, personal injury, and collision reconstruction.

1. Statistics Canada Catalogue 82-2003, Health Report, Vol. 15, No. 3 May 2004