Slip Fall Statistics

• Over 540,000 Slip-Fall injuries, requiring hospital care, occur in North America each year.
• Slip-Falls account for over 300,000 disabling injuries per year in North America.
• One in three serious bone breaks for seniors result in death, within one year of the accident.
• Slip-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-Falls kill more workers than all other combined forms of workplace accidents.
• Slip-Falls are the number one cause of accidents in Hotels, Restaurants and Public Buildings; 70% occur on flat and level surfaces.
• Slip-Fall are the leading cause of death in the workplace and the source of more than 57% of all disabling injuries.
• Slip-Fall accidents account for 30% of all reported injuries.
• There are social burdens related to this problem, including Worker’s Compensation claims over $1.8 Billion per year – i.e. 40% of all accident claims paid out. Worker’s Compensation and Liability Insurance Rates are increasing on the average of 30% per year.
• The focus should be on prevention, not compensation.
• The total expense resulting from slip-fall injuries alone is a $100 million per day problem.

Statistic Sources: National Safety Council, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ADA, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Workers Compensation Board, CMHC, American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), Canadian Injury Prevention Foundation, Health Canada, B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit, Smart Risk, International Sanitary Supply Assoc. (ISSA).