Among all unintentional injuries, accidental falls are the second leading cause of death in the world according to the World Health Organization. It is beaten only by road traffic incidents on the tally sheet. While most of those who fell are from low- to middle-income countries such as the nations in Southeast Asia, this doesn’t mean not a lot of people accidentally fall in the United States.
In fact, around thirty-five thousand deaths in the US have been attributed to accidental falls in 2016. A lot more, for sure, have been injured in the same circumstance. This is quite high, considering that the nation already has access to all tools and technologies that could have prevented the falls from happening.
Given all these figures, it is important for people now to make sure that they don’t become part of the statistics. In this article we’ll talk about the steps you need to take in order to avoid accidental falls. We end with a note on what should be done in order to recover well — both physically and financially — if the fall happened in the workplace.
Observe safety precautions
For sure, there is no other way to be safe from unintentional falls than to be very careful when performing tasks that require some sort of elevation or working on slippery surfaces. Now, being careful doesn’t only mean being mindful. There are also concrete steps that must be undertaken to ensure your safety.
Wear the appropriate safety gear. Anyone who works with tasks that make use of tools that elevate them (ladders, for example) has to assume a certain level of risk. To mitigate the impacts of these risks, they are advised to always wear the appropriate safety gear at all times, even if they are just performing the tasks at home.
Equip the home with anti-fall features. When living with older people, it will be very helpful if the home is equipped with features that provide mobility support for them, especially in areas that are considered high-risk such as the bathroom. A good example of these supportive features is a grab bar in the shower.
Let professionals take care of high-risk tasks whenever possible. When a chandelier or a huge painting needs to be mounted high up, it is better if professionals are called in to take care of the task. Not only are they experienced in handling such things, they are also equipped with the appropriate fall protection gear. With this, clients can be sure that the risk of anyone getting injured is very low.
What to do when the accidental fall happens in the workplace?
There are states that require employers to get insurance for all their employees. This ensures that the workers get the financial assistance that they need and deserve should they get involved in any accident that happens within the workplace.
However, there are unintentional fall incidents wherein the employer can be held liable. A good example is when a worker falls and gets seriously injured because he was wearing substandard safety gear. If the safety items were provided by the employer, they can be held liable for negligence.
Because of all that, it is highly necessary to fully analyze the circumstances of the fall to make sure that the actual cause of it and the factors that led to it are accurately determined. When this is done, determining accountability becomes a lot easier and appropriate legal actions can commence.
