The Cost of a Slip and Fall Injury to American Businesses

Undoubtedly, business owners have enough issues to be concerned about when trying to run their business. The last thing any business owner, manager, or supervisor wants to happen is a slip and fall injury to occur in their establishment. Perhaps what is worse is the knowledge of how easily preventable these sorts of injuries are with the use of an anti-slip mat or some other such no-slip flooring. While these accidents are easy to prevent, they are extremely difficult to remedy, as businesses have much to lose should one of them happen. Not only are there financial costs involved, including medical expenses and legal fees, but businesses risk being viewed as unsafe environments for not only their employees, but their customers as well. Around half of all kinds of workplace accidents can be attributed to the type of flooring which is present in that location; that being said, it would be wise for business owners to use safety matting in their establishments both as a preventative measure and an investment for the future.

Cost Statistics

• The average cost of a slip and fall injury is $22,800 per accident. This amount is simply the medical costs alone. That cost is far greater than the cost of any kind of safety matting that you might choose for your establishment

• The average cost of a worker’s compensation claim is $19,000. Instead of having to pay that amount, would it not be smarter to prevent accidents wholesale and invest in some no-slip flooring that would be much cheaper and potentially save thousands of dollars in the future?

• “Falls from the same level” are the second most costly injury which occurs in the workplace, annually. The combined annual cost is nearly $7 billion.

• The annual cost of disabling accidents that occur in the workplace exceeds $11 billion.

• The average cost of the rubber mat that is 4ft-by-50ft is $400. The average life of this mobile and modular product is 5 years! That is less than $80 dollars per year.

Injury Statistics

• These injuries account for 15% of all accidental deaths yearly in North America.

• They account for 30% of all reported injuries. This means that there could definitely be more similar injuries that occur, causing even more harm to people all over the United States.

• They are the most frequent cause of non-fatal injuries.

• Make up the majority of general industry accidents.

• Over 540,000 of these injuries will require hospital care every year.

• 300,000 of these are disabling.

• They cause 20,000 fatalities per year in North America.

Clearly, these types of injuries are to be taken seriously. They have the capability to not only disable and incapacitate, but to end lives in severe cases. While the loss of the ability to work or the loss of life is costly enough, there are unlimited financial losses that can be associated with these injuries as well. Business owners are oftentimes forced to pay for compensation, medical care costs, and legal fees, not only to their employees but to their customers and the public in general. Instead of waiting for one of these injuries to occur, it would be a better decision to but anti-slip mats or similar flooring for their establishments as a means of prevention.

A slip and fall injury is not to be taken lightly. With them come severe consequences, some of which cannot be remedied at all, and many which will require some sort of monetary compensation, leading to financial losses for your business. Any smart business owner would take any measure necessary to prevent such an unfortunate occurrence from happening. Especially when the cost of protecting wet floors is so small. Rubber flooring and mats will last seasons ands will provide a modular and affordable surface for your problem areas. Injuries can be easily prevented with either safety matting or complete no-slip flooring to cover entire floors areas. Just one anti-slip mat could be the difference between keeping both your employees and your customers safe or allowing a terrible accident to take place in your business, and you having to take responsibility for it.