In November 2016, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule updating Walking-Working Surfaces standards, with a focus on slips, trips and falls hazards. The rule, which OSHA estimates will prevent 29 fatalities and more than 5,842 injuries annually, is not expected to become a target of President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress as part of their pledge to “eliminate unnecessary regulations,” according to industry experts.
Ever wondered what slips, trips and falls injuries are costing employers annually? Billions of dollars. $17.92 billion to be exact. That is the amount of direct workers’ compensation costs related to slips, trips and falls (STFs) injuries in the U.S. according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index of the top ten disabling workplace injuries that are nonfatal.
Slips, trips and falls (STFs) can result in dangerous (even fatal) and costly outcomes. While these types of injuries can occur in many workplaces, there are certain industries that experience a higher incidence of STF’s:
Improving your company's experience modifier, better known as your "mod rate," is a critical factor in controlling workers' compensation expenses, which, given the steep rise in those costs in recent years, is essential to increasing profitability. Reducing the number of reportable on-the-job injuries – and the workers' comp claims they initiate – is the key to keeping your mod rate favorable and your workers' comp premiums reasonable.
According to Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, slips, trips, and falls are a top cause of workplace injuries as well as the leading cause of workers' comp claims. In a report titled Pace Yourself: What You Should Know About Slips, Trips, & Falls, the Institute places the annual direct cost of disabling occupational injuries due to slip, trips, and falls at more than $11 billion and states that in 2005, workplace falls alone accounted for over 200,000 injuries involving more than two days away from work and more than 700 deaths.
