How To Prevent Slip, Trips And Falls.

Slip, trips and falls account for more than 14,000 serious injuries in British workplaces last year and a total of 61 fatalities. Most slip, trips and falls can easily be avoided if health and safety guidelines are followed and common sense is used. The reason that slip, trip and falls are so common is that they can occur in almost any situation. Sometimes they may be the result of your own careless behaviour, but sometimes an accident could be the fault of someone else’s negligent behaviour. When this is the case, it is important to seek legal advice on how to best pursue your claim and how to ultimately receive the compensation that you deserve.

Whether you suffer an accident as a result of a slip, a trip or a fall the pain that you experience can be very serious. The severity of your injury can depend on the situation involved and injuries can range from minor injuries such as cuts and bruises to more serious injuries, for example head and back injuries. It can help to know the difference between slips, trips and falls and how and why they occur in order to avoid them. Slips often occur when there is too little friction or traction between your feet and the walking surface. The common causes of slips include wet surfaces, ice or other weather hazards, spillages that have not been cleared away and poor tread on footwear.

There are a few ways in which you can prevent slips and keep yourself safe in potentially hazardous situations. Firstly, when walking on wet surfaces it is best to shorten your stride and to walk with your feet pointed and slightly for extra balance. You should also make wider turns to avoid slipping over. Spillages must be cleaned up immediately to prevent any unexpected slips. When battling with hazardous weather conditions it is advisable to walk more slowly so that you van react to traction changes and give yourself time to steady yourself if you fall off balance. You should also wear appropriate footwear to protect yourself. Footwear should be slip resistant and shoes should be dried off as soon as possible after entering a dry building. This is because wet shoes on dry floors can be as dangerous as dry shoes on wet floors. Visible warning signs should also be displayed close to potential hazards to give people time to adjust their behaviour to deal with the situation.

Trips commonly occur when your foot strikes an object and your momentum throws you off balance. There are a few things that you can do to prevent tripping over. If you are carrying packages then it is important to not let the goods obstruct your view as you could easily trip over an obstruction that you are unable to see. You should make sure that you only use proven walkways, as short cuts may not have been properly maintained and may have hidden obstructions. If you are in an office environment then you should close desk of filing cabinet drawers when not in use as these may cause obstructions. You should also always be on the look-out for any uneven or broken pavements, roads or handrails in public places and then report them so that they can be fixed.

Falls usually take place in situations that involve different levels. Falling down the stairs, for example is a very common type of fall situation. Another common accident situation involves using a chair as a ladder. In order to prevent accidents you should follow these simple guidelines and use your common sense when approaching potentially dangerous situations. Firstly, you should never stand on a chair to reach a high object. Always use a ladder. And when using the ladders you should always make sure that you are using the right type and size for your needs. When using stairs you should make sure that you walk up and down them, and never jump from the last step. You should use the handrails provided as they are there for a reason. Any unsafe conditions need to be reported so that the problem is rectified.

Slip, trips and falls can easily be avoided if you follow these simple guidelines and use your own common sense and intuition when placed in a potentially hazardous situation. Slip, trips and falls account for the majority of work absenteeism and loss of production in the workplace, therefore if you can avoid these sorts of accidents it is both beneficial to you and your employee.

Tags: back injuries, common sense, cuts and bruises, footwear, friction, hazardous situations, health and safety, legal advice, minor injuries, nbsp, safety guidelines, severity, slips, traction, wet surfaces