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It is not possible to place an exact cost on accidents caused by slips, trips and falls as it is very hard to quantify. This is because every single case is entirely unique, and each one needs to be looked at and investigated, but slips, trips and falls will probably be more costly than you think.
Most slips, trips and falls could have been avoided had proper precautions been taken. Therefore, lawsuits often tend to follow and the pay-outs can quickly add up, depending on the injury. There are many different factors which can influence the amount of money given and again, these are all dependant on the
incident itself.
These factors include if there is a resultant loss of income, pain from injury, a reduced quality of life or an increased level of worry and stress. Obvious and visible costs also include costs covered by insurance, so things like injury, ill health and damage done, but there are also invisible costs which are not as obvious, and can cost businesses a lot more than just the compensation to the casualty. These include product, plant and equipment damage, production delays, overtime working, temporary labour and training, loss of expertise and experience, investigation time, clerical effort and the effect of the accident itself, such as loss of public image. Not only do these costs affect business but slips, trips and falls cost society over 800 million pounds every year, with a cost to the NHS of around 133 million pounds. Statistics such as these really highlight the necessity of keeping slips, trips and falls to a minimum and you should be doing all in your power to reduce the chances.
So let’s have a look at a few case study's where companies have been sued due to slips, trips and falls. The first one is where a supermarket was fined £25500 after a worker was burned, when she was pouring hot oil in a plastic bucket which proceeded to melt. This caused the oil to spill out onto her feet, causing her to slip over and then consequently burn her back as well. She was doing this because the fryer was not working properly, and had not been replaced for 3 months. The company admitted the offence and were ordered to pay £9,500 in costs and £16,000 as a fine.
The next case study caused a lot larger payout, a total of £55,000, however the cause of this was a lot smaller; a single chipped potato. An experienced teacher slipped over on a chip outside of a school canteen and seriously strained her knee. She was left unable to return to work, and the judge ruled that, not only was the floor made of an unsuitable material, but it was also not kept adequately clean.
