subject: Common Types of Personal Injury - Slips, Trips and Falls [print this page] Common Types of Personal Injury - Slips, Trips and Falls
According to the Health and Safety Executive organisation, slips, trips and falls, are the most common types of accidents to occur in the workplace. These types of accidents result in around 40 deaths each year and over 15,000 major injuries. It has been estimated that the total number of annual cost of slips and trips is 800 million.
Employers have a duty to protect all their employees from injuries and should take the necessary steps to minimise the risk of accidents. Employers that fail to follow this duty may be liable to pay compensation for any personal injury which happens to a member of staff.
An employer will be liable to pay compensation only where the accident was caused (or was made worse) by their negligence. In order to show that the employer is guilty of negligence, the injured party must be able to demonstrate that it was reasonably foreseeable to the employer that there was risk of accident and that a reasonable person would have taken the appropriate steps to avoid the accident or to reduce the possibility of it ever occurring, and that the employer unreasonably failed to take these steps.
Some examples of steps which an employer might reasonably be expected to take in order to reduce the risk of slips and trips include:
Taping down or securing loose carpet tiles and floor mats;
Performing a risk assessment of all slip and trip hazards within the workplace;
Restricting access to parts of the premises which are in need of maintenance;
Making sure that cables and wires are secured and marked with high-visibility tape;
Ensuring that corridors and other areas which see heavy foot-traffic are kept clear of obstacles;
Ensuring that there is a system in place for reporting spillages and that any spills are cleaned up promptly;
Placing warning signs and hazard tape to identify particular risks, such as uneven floor surfaces or steps which are not readily visible;
Replacing standard floor surfaces with non-slip flooring especially in areas where there is a risk of spillage such as kitchenettes and bathrooms;
Ensuring that there is adequate lighting in dark areas, and low-level lighting or emergency lights are installed to reduce the risk of employees slipping or tripping in a power-cut;
Where an employer has acted negligently and an employee makes a successful claim for personal injury, large amounts of compensation may be awarded and whilst all employers are required to have employers and public liability insurance, they may find that a successful personal injury claim causes their insurance premiums to rise dramatically.
It should also be remembered that a large number of personal injury claims could be used by cited as evidence that the employer is failing to meet their health and safety obligations and provide a safe place of work. This could potentially result in regulatory action and prosecution.
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