Personal injuries resulting from slip and falls in Tulsa and throughout Oklahoma still remain high in spite of numerous safety regulations to reduce accidents at corporations and other places of businesses. Although businesses hold a duty of providing a safe workplace, the truth is that sometimes this does not always occur.
Employees can be severely injured in slip and falls, breaking bones and even suffering concussions. In more serious instances, slip and falls can be fatal.
A 2007 Bureau of Labor and Statistics report indicated that a significant number of employee work absences were caused by falls on floors, walkways, and ground services. The following year in 2008, The Bureau of Labor and Statistics noted that 84 deaths occurred as a result of slip and falls on hard ground surfaces.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) attributes slip and falls to four main causes:
- Workers
- Machines and Equipment
- Workplace Environment
- Improper Management
The ASSE focuses on preventative measures for workers. Workers can suffer from slip and fall injuries by not wearing proper footwear in slippery areas, which increases the dangers of walking in slick areas. The best precaution is to purchase tread safe footwear, or footwear with sturdy rubber soles with multiple ripples, or “tread grips” similar in appearance to tires.
However, this precaution is not enough to prevent slip and falls. Workers should be alert of slick areas and notify employers of wet spaces and leaks. Always seek areas that potentially have places where you can grip something stable in the event of losing your balance. For instance, some work areas have strong stationary tables which can help you prevent yourself from falling, if you do slip.
The ASSE also recommends knowing the types of floors where slip and falls would be most likely to occur. For instance, marble type walkways would present a greater hazard than tiled floors, when wet. Workers should tread more carefully in these areas.
Lastly, workers should learn how to fall to minimize injuries. Inevitably, there will be times when falls cannot be avoided. Safety sites recommend that workers stay calm when falling. Tuck your body in a way to avoid neck and back injuries by rolling together and attempting to bend knees inward. You should avoid wildly flailing arms as this may make falling worse. Following a fall, you should immediately ice the area of contact and seek medical attention.
The Oklahoma slip and fall attorneys of Maples Law Firm are highly skilled and qualified at helping clients obtain compensation needed to cope with a slip and fall. For your free legal consultation, contact our office today at 1-888-429-0609.
