Business owners have a lot on their plate. A functional business operation involves an inestimable sum of considerations, and owners ruthlessly cull unnecessary variables. Of all the unnecessary things that plague businesses, slip and fall accidents—while seemingly innocuous—are one of the most pernicious. Often, unsuspecting owners are mercilessly bludgeoned by the weight of slip and fall accidents, which can lead to slip and fall injury, slip and fall cases, and the dreaded slip and fall settlements. For these business owners, the most painful realization is the lesson that a slip and fall injury is very easy to prevent. Slip prevention comes in multiple forms. But the most obvious one is the installation of adequate flooring—a slip-resistant flooring that stops slip and fall accidents before they have the chance to occur. Otherwise, the consequences are dire. Medical treatments for slip and fall injury account for an enormous proportion of aggregate medical fees. Slip and fall settlements can value in the millions. And honestly, the suffering that a victim with a serious slip and fall injury experiences is oftentimes a cost that no dollar amount can reach. But, these consequences are just as preventable as they are terrible. Thoughtfully placing rubber, anti-slip floors where they are most needed is an investment that can save you thousands (which is probably an underestimate). Slip prevention isn’t just a precaution; it’s an investment. Below, we have compiled a list of statistics showing just how costly slip and fall accidents can be.

How much does the average slip and fall injury cost?

For the victim, medical bills for treating a slip and fall injury average between $30,000 and $40,000.

Can I claim compensation for a fall?

Because slipping and falling often occurs on someone else’s property, the victim can sue the property owner for damages if certain conditions are met. Depending on the slip and fall law of the state in which the victim slipped and fell, slip and fall settlements can range from thousands to millions. For example, in 2012, Valerie Dantzler won one million dollars from Wal-Mart after the court deemed that Wal-Mart was responsible for causing Dantzler’s slip and fall injury.

What are the elements of a slip and fall case?

There are four criteria for determining whether the victim of a slip and fall deserves compensation. First, the hazard—perhaps a slippery floor-hazard—must have been present on the property where the victim fell. Second, the victim must have been granted lawful access into the property’s premises. Third, the hazard—perhaps one of many slippery floor-hazards on the property—must have injured the victim. And finally, the person must have been injured by the hazard as a result of the property owner’s negligence. This last element can get tricky, especially when the property owner erected a wet floor sign where the, say, slippery bathroom floor was. In these slip and fall cases, issues like whether the slippery area was the only way in and out of property come into play. Nonetheless, this kind of minutia is peripheral to the main point: The four criteria above are what a business owner should first consider when a slip and fall injury occurs on her property. However, there’s an even better route to take. Instead of reacting to a slip and fall injury, a business owner could install rubber, anti-slip matting where hazards often appear. What this means is that the prudent business owner would emplace the proper measures for slip and fall prevention, halting the chaos at its point of genesis—the fall.

What is the average cost of a slip and fall?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the medical fees for treating a slip and fall injury are—on average—between $30,000 and $40,000 (CDC). If you sustain a slip and fall injury in your home, then that’s a fortune to pay out of your own pocket. And if it’s one of your employees or customers on your property who sustains a slip and fall injury, the settlement costs can be even higher. The point is that these are ridiculous sums to risk paying, especially when rubber, anti-slip mats cost a miniscule fraction of those prices. Framed this way, proactive slip prevention is a no-brainer.

How many work days are lost due to slips, trips, and falls?

In the United States, on average, each worker loses 11 work-days per year due to slip and fall injury. Thus, as a business owner, even if you are not at fault for an employee’s slip and fall injury, you are still losing a fraction of the total productivity the employee provides your business. Slip prevention is always a winning strategy.

Are rubber floors expensive?

It is an established fact that rubber—as a material—provides some of the best traction out there. (That’s why car tires are made of rubber!) A 4-by-50-foot rubber mat, on average, costs $400. Furthermore, rubber mats typically last 5 years before needing to be replaced. Thus, in installing slip prevention, a business owner is paying about $80 a year to prevent potentially thousands of dollars in expenses associated with slip and fall injury. Looking at it this way, rubber floors are a steal.

Some of our other articles detail exactly how physically detrimental slip and fall accidents can be on their victims. But, in this article, our aim is to dive deeper into the costs associated with a slip and fall injury—whether it’s a cost shouldered by the victim or by a property owner. Ultimately, the conclusions parallel—a slip and fall injury is no joke. One bad beat, and you—whether you’re the victim or the business owner—can be in for immeasurable physical, mental, and financial hurt. There is a plethora of undesirable consequences that arises when a slip and fall injury occurs—especially when the right legal criteria are met. The litany of fees associated with one bad slip and fall injury can decimate your assets, putting you in a world of torment that begins and ends in a dry, wooden court room.