Treacherous Traction

October 27, 2011

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Falls Ascend the Liability Chart

By Jim Stewart

Slip-and-fall accidents are common and costly. Across all age groups, Statistics Canada data reveals that falls are responsible for 38% of severe injuries, ranking only behind automotive accidents. They are the number one cause of accidents in hotels, restaurants and public buildings, and nearly 60% of grocery store operators’ liability insurance claims are for slip and fall accidents.

Seniors are particularly vulnerable. Falls often result in head or spine injuries, requiring hospitalization. At the other end of the age spectrum, falls are the leading type of accident involving children under the age of 15.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario pegs the average indirect costs to an employer for a single slip and fall injury at $20,000, while the direct WSIB claim costs can be as much as $11,700. Costs can jump significantly if injured parties turn to the courts.

Liability risk has shaped property managers’ approach to floor care in recent years, transforming it from a simple cleaning regimen to more of a preventative maintenance and safety strategy. Three important pieces of legislation also come into play.

• The Occupier's Liability Act

This law provides that an owner or occupier of any premises owes "a duty of care" under law to anyone who is on the premises. Premises must be maintained to ensure that anyone coming onto it is reasonably safe.

• The Occupational Health and Safety Act

This sets outs employers’ legal responsibility to take every reasonable precaution to prevent injuries, and to prove they have been diligent in protecting workers’ safety. If a slip-and-fall accident occurs, the burden of proof would rest with the employer.

• Bill C-45 

The Act establishes the criminal liability of organizations, and is designed for extremely serious cases involving fatalities as a result of improper safety compliance or instances where a death or a profoundly serious accident has occurred.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety recommends a Hazard Control Plan, which should include floors among the potentially dangerous features of a workplace. The plan identifies measures needed to protect people on the property, and typically implements them at the source of the hazard, along the path of the hazard and where employees work.

Risk assessment should cover normal activities and unusual situations that may occur on the floor. For example, that might be the combined risk from dropped beverages, older pedestrians, high heels and inadequate lighting rather than the perhaps more obvious hazard of wet floors from snow, ice or rain.

The ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard B101, Safety Requirements for Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention includes a test method for measuring the wet static coefficient of friction (SCOF) of common hard-surface floor materials. That is essentially a measure of slipperiness, which is categorized as low traction, moderate traction or high traction. Low-traction floors pose a greater risk in general, while floors with a SCOF below 0.5 are considered hazardous.

Hazard controls also fall into categories:

• Elimination: replacing low-traction or aging flooring with a high-traction, non-slip surface. This can be costly and often deemed economically prohibitive.
• Engineering Controls: include permanent modifications to the floor to transform low-traction floors into high-traction surfaces.
• Administrative Controls: policies and rules for floor hazards and work practices such as housekeeping procedures and signage to identify a wet or low-traction floor.  
• Personal Protective Equipment: appropriate footwear worn by employees.

Risk reduction may use a combination of the controls and/or implement one of them temporarily until another control can be permanently installed. Controls such as signs and mats can inadvertently create additional slip-and-fall or trip hazards so monitoring and maintenance are important.

Materials such as ceramic, porcelain and stone create low-traction floors, but they are prevalent due to their durability and aesthetic qualities. Engineered modifications can enhance traction, in both wet and dry states, on these types of hard-mineral surfaces.

Safer flooring can reduce economic and regulatory exposure to liability, while potentially reducing maintenance and labour costs, improving operational efficiency and updating décor. Return on investment calculations should also consider this bigger picture.

Jim Stewart is Director with RALOS Safety Floors Inc., a company specializing in anti-slip floor treatments. For more information, see the web site at www.ralossafetyfloors.com.