What you’ll learn from this article:
- Winter weather brings increased risks of slip and fall accidents on slippery surfaces.
- Learn how to prevent slip and fall accidents and take precautions to avoid falling injuries.
- After a slip and fall accident, a personal injury lawyer helps an injured person pursue accident compensation so they can focus on recovering.
As winter weather arrives, the risk of slip and fall injuries also rises. Ice and snow create slick patches where someone could slip and tumble to the ground.
A winter weather study found slip-and-fall accidents are 70% more likely to happen on days with high levels of snowfall. Of course, falls happen year-round, so it’s important to stay vigilant at all times for slipping and tripping hazards.
How to Prevent Slip and Fall Accidents
According to the National Safety Council, “Falls are 100% preventable,” yet they are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. Falls send more than 6 million people per year to U.S. emergency rooms with injuries like broken bones, lacerations, and concussions.
Prevention is essential. At home, work, and everywhere else, watch your footing and stay out of areas with tripping and slipping hazards. If you’re a commercial property owner or business owner, teach your employees how to prevent slip and fall accidents.
Clear Clutter
Keep debris and clutter from building up around walkways. Ensure no objects protrude into areas like hallways, aisles, and stairs.
Take Care With Ladders
Ladders bring an increased risk of falls at home and work. More than 90% of all ladder deaths are associated with movable ladders, which aren’t always properly positioned for safety.
Replace Worn Flooring
Rugs, carpets, and other flooring materials are responsible for more than 2 million falling injuries every year. Inspect floors regularly and replace flooring as soon as it begins to look loose or worn.
Wear Safe Shoes
Always wear safe and comfortable shoes with a good fit. In work areas with slick surfaces, use non-slip work shoes designed for good grip. Walk carefully in areas with hazards and notify the property owner if you see something dangerous.
Beware of Workplace Injuries
Falls are the third leading cause of workplace injuries. In some workplace falls, a worker trips, slips, or stumbles on something and falls to the ground or falls into a nearby object. In other incidents, the worker falls a distance down to a lower level, increasing the risk of severe injuries.
Promote safety with workplace warning signs in areas with floor hazards and fall risks. Take extra caution in these zones and move carefully to avoid falling.
Watch for Outdoor Hazards
Parking lots and public walkways are common areas for slip-and-fall injuries due to their high traffic and ongoing wear and tear. Keep an eye out for broken pavement and potholes in your path and report these dangerous areas to the property owner.
During the colder months, maintain a heightened awareness of slipping on icy and snowy surfaces. Most areas have local ordinances requiring the removal of snowfall within a reasonable amount of time after it falls, but staying alert is the key to staying safe.
Clean Up Spills Immediately
Property owners should address any spills or slick areas promptly. Below is more information about owners’ responsibility to keep their properties safe.
What to Do in a Slip and Fall Accident
Kentucky’s premises liability laws require property owners to make reasonable efforts to maintain safety. If you’re hurt on someone’s property, they may be liable for your injuries if they knew about the hazard and allowed it to persist or didn’t warn you about it.
Generally speaking, it’s not enough for a property owner to apply a quick fix to an ongoing safety issue. For example, if a leaky gutter spills onto a walkway and freezes into a patch of slick ice every time the temperature drops, the property owner should do more than just knock away the ice by getting to the root of the problem and repairing the gutters.
In terms of clearing winter snow, landlords and property owners are allowed some leeway. They are not expected to clear it as soon as it hits the ground but should work on clearing it within a reasonable amount of time.
After a slip-and-fall injury on someone’s property, the property owner may be able to use an insurance policy to cover the costs of your injuries. You might need to file a claim against a company or government agency responsible for maintaining the area.
Contact a Kentucky slip-and-fall accident lawyer to discuss the incident and learn about your potential routes to securing compensation.
Slip and Fall Accident? Contact McCoy & Sparks – Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyers
If you were hurt in a slip-and-fall accident, turn to the slip and fall accident lawyers at McCoy & Sparks. Our legal team has been helping Kentucky’s injured people for more than a decade and counting. We can explain your legal options so you feel empowered to seek the compensation you deserve.
You owe McCoy & Sparks nothing unless we recover slip-and-fall accident compensation for you. Schedule your FREE consultation by calling 844-459-9467 or filling out our online form.