40+ Statistics on Slips, Trips, and Falls + Tips to Prevent

A growing business can be significantly hindered or driven into bankruptcy by a single lawsuit.

brought against employers is on the basis of tort law, or the violation of a person’s civil rights. One such violation of tort law is negligence on behalf of the business resulting in an accident of bodily injury which can put unnecessary legal and financial strains on any business. 

Slips, trips, and falls are a huge concern for employers in the home service industry as their workforce is the most liable for these accidents to cause serious bodily injury. Lawsuits, workers’ compensation claims, and lost productivity are all impediments on your business's profitability and growth.

In this article, we cover the statistics related to slips, trips, and falls across various industries and include tips to prevent these accidents from happening to your business. Continue reading or

below.

Using data from the

we are able to gain some valuable insights into the prevalence of injuries and illnesses that cause workers to miss days at work. In 2017, the most recent year reported on, there were a total of

resulting in days away from work in private industry. 

Whether or not you consider your job to be dangerous, you should understand how some of the most common injuries occur. 

Here is more information on the injury cases:

74% of occupational illnesses were reported in the private sector. The number of illnesses reported by private industry totaled more than 18,500 cases in 2017. Here are more stats related to occupational illness:

More than

of all injuries sustained across all industries are caused by slips, trips, and falls. Of these slips, trips, and falls, 16% of all workplace accidents involved falls on the ground level. Unfortunately, more than 5% of workplace accidents resulted from a fall between two or more stories. 

It is also interesting to note the statistic related to slips and trips

More than

of all workplace accidents that resulted in time away from work were caused by slips and trips without a fall. 

At Housecall Pro we are deeply interested in understanding the rate of injury amongst our pros and their employees. We are also acutely aware of how important it is to prevent or manage injuries on the job successfully. 

For the construction and home service industry, here are some statistics related to non-fatal injuries on the job: 

When most people think about the professions with the most workplace injuries and illnesses they conjure up the most dangerous jobs, like firefighters, deep-sea fishermen, and pilots. In reality, injuries and illnesses occur every day to contractors, plumbers, HVAC specialists, and more. Let’s dig into why this is a problem for your business.

According to

, 20% of all fatalities in private industry were related to construction in 2017. Of these deaths, nearly 60% were caused by four events, known in the industry as

. 

Reducing or eliminating the risk from these four causes of death would save hundreds of lives every single year. In fact, there were

. Let’s explore some of the leading causes of falls on the job site and ways to prevent them.

Any job site has its share of hazards and unfortunately, nothing can entirely remove the risk out of workplace injuries and illnesses.

, more than 300 construction workers die each year and more than 10,000 more are seriously injured by falls from heights.

The CDC also cites ladders, roofs, and scaffolding as leading causes of slips, trips, and falls on job sites. 

Here are some other statistics related to slips, trips, and falls while on the job:

Below are some stats related to fatalities from falls between two or more levels:

There are some strategies that you can implement to work toward injury prevention within your business or on your job site. 

One of the most effective prevention methods is awareness and education. This could be as simple as starting the work-day with a 5-minute briefing on the state of the job site, pointing out any fall hazards, slippery surfaces, or other injury-prone obstacles on the site. 

Another strategy is to train every employee about the risks involved with your particular industry and how to prevent common injuries. 

The job site should be well lit and visibility should never be an issue. It’s especially important to have proper lighting in areas where hazardous materials or obstacles are present. 

Lighting can help identify spills which can be a slip hazard.

.

Staircases, curbs, and other trip hazards should also have ample lighting given

. Another 5% of falls are also due to tripping over an object. 

Communication of hazards on the job site is very important and clearly marking any obstacles, materials, spills, or other hazards is vital to communicating this. 

. This is why you must clearly mark areas that are deemed fall dangers and especially holes or gaps in the floor surface. 

Spill containment and proper management of hazardous liquids is vital for jobsite safety. Routinely check for leaks and spills, have proper equipment for cleanup on site, and of course, have signage to document the spill. 

Small leaks and spills can seem arbitrary and easy to overlook, but a small leak can turn into a big spill and given the risks of slips, trips, and falls on the job site, it’s best to prioritize spill containment. 

A jobsite is especially susceptible to toxic chemicals, moisture, and other foreign particles being inhaled. In fact,

Proper ventilation can help reduce the risk of inhaling particulate in the workplace. Depending on the industry your business serves you may want to enforce the use of respirators or other air filtration systems. 

Similar to the need to wear respirators, other workplace attire may be helpful in reducing the risks of slips, trips, and falls on site. Slip resistant shoes, for example, are a great option for industries where water and other liquids are common. Restaurant employees are usually required to use slip resistant shoes since the kitchen is susceptible to spills and other slip hazards. 

Hard hats, steel-toed boots, harnesses, respirators, and other field service industry equipment may be important for the safety of your workers and should be strictly enforced. If the environment is relaxed and safety equipment is seen as optional, injuries — and the subsequent costs — will be a more common occurrence. 

As a business owner, it is important you understand the risks and costs associated with negligence regarding the physical safety of your crew

If you are managing your fleet of employees remotely, it’s important you have a strong leader on site to manage the safety of your people. Slips, trips, and falls are a large portion of injuries on the job, but many more risks are also present. 

We understand a blue-collar entrepreneur like yourself has a lot of things to keep track of and manage for the success of your business. This is why we have built a suite of

for field service businesses to manage their fleet, customers, and jobs within an easy to use mobile app. Sign up for a free trial of Housecall Pro today!