The CAN Financial Corp, a company that is involved in business insurance, did a study in 2017 and found that most businesses had floors that could not be deemed as slip-proof. The floors underwent some testing and they were found not to meet the criteria laid out in laws and regulations. Many programs designed to prevent falling in the workplace do not seem to work due to this irregularity with the laid out standards. Many companies are trying to change and maintain their floors to avoid slippage, but they are not doing it right.
The same research looked at slip-and-fall liability claims for a period of 6 years and found that most of the claims came from accidents that had low-severity injuries. This shows that business owners were setting themselves up to be sued simply because they were not having floors that were up to par. Anyone suffering a small injury made a claim that showed that the required standards were not met, and this led to the “victim” getting an award.
Retail and real estate are main targets
It has been shown that the real estate an retail industry is the one that is usually targeted when it comes to setting slip and fall accidents. When someone slips in a rental home, the construction company or the owner is sued in court. When shoppers fall at the mall, the management has to pay an injury claim. With proper slip prevention testing measures, these figures can soon start going down.
The main harmful events are found in Entryway (40%), Sidewalks (27%), Parking lots (33%) and Interior Office Floors (less than 1%). People want to sue when they fall in public areas, but will not sue when they fall at their place of work, lest they lose their jobs. This trend should worry many business owners and real estate players. They should keep free from this kind of exploitation by getting proper slip prevention testing done on your premises.
The overall outlook
Anyone can slip at any place, and at any time. Accidents do happen anywhere, but there is one thing that should keep business owners worried. The fact that slip and fall claims are more frequent than they are severe shows that they are at risk of being taken advantage of. It is critical that they enhance floor safety by addressing slip resistance and maintenance of their floors. Businesses need to reduce their risk, and it is only through proper pendulum slip testing that they can do so.
In conclusion
Pendulum slip testing is no longer a luxury that business and building owners can ignore, it is a financial reality and they need to change how their floors are when it comes to reducing the risk of slipping and falling. With the proper flooring material, these accidents will reduce and the claims will too.