Slip and FALL

Beautiful foliage on the ground, pumpkins everywhere, and maybe even some ice- it’s no wonder this season is called fall!  Here are some statistics from the National Floor Safety Institute about slip and fall accidents:

• Fall fatalities are nearly equally divided between men and women. However, more women will experience a slip-and-fall accident. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, falls accounted for 5% of the job-related fatalities for women compared to 11% for men.
• Falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits (21.3%). Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits, or 12% of total falls.
• Fractures are the most serious consequences of falls and occur in 5% of all people who fall.
• Slips and falls do not constitute a primary cause of fatal occupational injuries, but represent the primary cause of lost days from work.
• Slips and falls are the leading cause of workers’ compensation claims and are the leading cause of occupational injury for people aged 55 years and older.
• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year.
• Half of all accidental deaths in the home are caused by a fall. Most fall injuries in the home happen at ground level, not from an elevation.
• Of all fractures from falls, hip fractures are the most serious and lead to the greatest health problems and number of deaths. The following statistics describe the slip-and-fall crisis affecting our nation’s elderly.
• Each year in the United States, one of every three persons over the age of 65 will experience a fall. Half of which are repeat fallers.
• According to the CDC In 2005, more than 15,000 people over the age of 65 died as a result of a fall. Up from 7,700 a decade earlier.
• The CDC also reports that approximately 1.8 million people over the age of 65 were treated in an emergency room as a result of a fall.
• For people aged 65-84 years, falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death; for those aged 85 years or older, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.
• Incidence of falls goes up with each decade of life.
• Of all deaths associated with falls, 60% involve people aged 75 years or older.
• Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people over the age of 65 and are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury.
• Half of all elderly adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for hip fractures cannot return home or live independently after the fracture.
• Falls represent 40% of all nursing home admissions and are the sixth leading cause of death among people aged 70 years or older.
• Over 60% of nursing homes residents will fall each year.
• According to The National Institute on Aging, every year 30% of people over the age of 65 will sustain a fall, of which 10% will result in a serious injury.
• 67% of fall fatalities are among people aged 75 years or older.
• People over the age of 85 are 10-15 times more likely to experience a hip fracture than are people aged 60-65 years.
• 85% of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors (Industrial Safety & Occupational Health Markets 5th edition)
• 22% of slip/fall incidents resulted in more than 31 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002).
• Compensation & medical costs associated with employee slip/fall accidents is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).
• Occupational fatalities due to falls are approximately 600 per year down from 1200 during since the 1970s.
• Total injuries due to falls estimated at $13-14 million per year in U.S. Falls are the number one cause of accidental injury, resulting in 20.8 percent of all emergency room visits in 1995. (Motor vehicle accidents accounted for 11.9 percent of ER visits.)
• Disabling (temporary and permanent) occupational injuries due to falls are approximately $250,000-$300,000 per year.
• Falls occur in virtually all manufacturing and service sectors. Fatal falls however are in construction, mining and certain maintenance activities.
• According to Workers Compensation statistics from ITT-Hartford Insurance Company, falls account for 16% of all claims and 26% of all costs. This compares to 33% of costs associated with sprains and strains.
• According to the American Trucking Association, slips and falls are the leading cause of compensable injury in the trucking industry.

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, or if you have an on-the-job injury, contact Gold Star Law to find out if there is something we can do to help.

Source:  https://nfsi.org/nfsi-research/quick-facts/