Slip and fall accidents can occur in a wide variety of contexts. These accidents can happen on ice and snow, from slippery substances, etc. Slips and falls cause very serious, and sometimes deadly injuries to people. I found the following from Anti-Slip Alberta which presents some chilling facts regarding slip and fall accidents and the injuries these accidents can cause:
- Slip and falls account for over 20,000 fatalities per year in North America – i.e. 55 persons per day. It is the second leading cause of accidental death and disability after automobile accidents. Slip and falls kill more workers than all other combined forms of workplace accidents.
- Two out of three fall deaths occur in the home and our elderly are primary victims. 66% of injury cases for people 65 years or older were a result of a fall and over 75% of slip-fall deaths occur to people 65 years of age or older.
- In the home, the bathroom and kitchen account for a staggering number of slip and fall injuries, making the total expense resulting from Slip-fall injuries an 36 BILLION dollar a year problem in North America, or over a $100 million per day problem.
In Massachusetts, the high rate of snowfall coupled with freezing temperatures causes numerous opportunites for people to slip on ice and snow. Please use caution accordingly.