The typical workplace is not without its hazards, particularly if it is a workplace that involves a lot of manual labor or the use of heavy equipment and heavy machinery. But more than anything else, people in a workplace are likely to suffer from slip and fall accidents. Slip and fall accidents are prevalent throughout many industries in the United States, and they have a high cost: both as a monetary value and in that of human life and the quality of that life. Every year, slip and fall accidents total to a cost of nearly seventy billion dollars in the United States alone and cause many preventable deaths, of which there were more than one hundred and sixty thousand in the year of 2016 (with a total cost of more than nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars – nearly one million dollars). Safety treads for outdoor steps and yellow fluorescent reflective tape are two easy ways to prevent such accidents from ever occurring in the first place.
As of the current date, slip and fall accidents in the United States are second only behind car or motor vehicle accidents in causing accidental deaths. These deaths can result immediately – particularly if a slip causes a long fall or a steep one – or they can result from other injuries. And even when the victim of the slip and fall accident is lucky enough to survive, they are likely to have sustained injuries that may range from minor to severe. Slips and falls cause a total of around twelve thousand injuries every year in the United States, requiring employees to request workers compensation. One quarter of all claims for workers compensation are made in the aftermath of a slip and fall accident, costing companies and industries around the country what often amount to huge amounts of money every year. More than fifteen percent of such slip and fall injuries are disabling in the long term – or even permanently. For the victims of these accidents, their whole life is likely to be changed. This can even lead to personal injury law suits filed by the victims of the accidents, costing companies for both legal fees and any potential settlement payments that may be ultimately decided on.
Slipping and falling can be even more dangerous for senior citizens who are over the age of fifty five. As the chance of sustaining a significant slip and fall injury increases with every ten years of a person’s life, this means that older people in the workplace are at what sometimes amounts to a much greater risk. In fact, data and statistics show that the elderly population is most likely to sustain and suffer from such an injury as as slip and fall injury.
Fortunately, slip and fall injuries can be relatively easy to prevent in the workplace. The implementation of safety treads for outdoor steps are ideal for outdoor work spaces. Safety treads for outdoor steps may also be ideal for warehouses and loading docks, as safety treads for outdoor steps can help to provide visibility even in poor conditions. Anti slip step covers can also be hugely helpful, especially so in environments where steps are likely to become wet or otherwise slick. The combination of anti slip step covers combined with safety treads for outdoor steps can create the ideal safe working environment for employees all throughout the country – and throughout various industries where slip and fall injuries have become all too common.
From safety track tape to safety strips for ramps and safety treads for outdoor steps, there are many ways that workplaces can work to keep their employees as safe as they can possibly be. It is important to note that falls will still happen, but that they can be reduced dramatically, as can the incidence of serious injury and even the loss of life. It’s true – even the simple addition of safety treads for outdoor steps has the potential to save lives, particularly among older workers who are statistically more prone to slipping and falling – and suffering a serious injury or even dying if they do.
