Indiana Slip and Fall Accidents, A Commonly Overlooked Risk

We’re talking about slips, trips and fall. And we’re here with officials from the National Safety Council (NSC), trying to help you to prevent these kinds of accidents. It’s all a part of a campaign during National Safety Month to help you stay a little bit safer. We’re working to educate and encourage safe behaviors around top causes of preventable injuries and deaths.Our slip and fall lawyers understand that there are simple adjustments that you and your family members can make to help to minimize slip, trip and fall accidents. The truth of the matter is that these accidents are the second-leading cause of unintentional death in homes and communities here in Munster and elsewhere around the country. With the summer season upon us, it’s the perfect time to make some improvements to our home and refresh on our safety skills to prevent these accidents both at work and at home.

Each year, falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits (more than 21 percent). Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits, or about 12 percent of total falls.

What’s worse is that close to 2,000 people die in these kinds of accidents each and every year. And it’s out older population that we’ve got to worry about the most here. As a matter of fact, one out of every three elderly individuals (those over the age of 65) are expected to experience a serious slip, trip or fall accident. Half of these incidents will be repeat accidents for these elderly individuals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) categorizes falls into two basic types: elevated falls and same-level falls. Same-level falls are more common and therefore cause more injuries to more people, but elevated falls are the most serious and cause more severe injuries to a less number of people.

But there are ways that you can help to reduce these risks:

-Make sure you’re wearing shoes with traction. You don’t want to walk around in slippery shoes. That’s just an accident waiting to happen.

-Slow it down. There’s no need to rush, especially when rushing only increases your risks for an accident.

-Be cautious when getting in and out of your vehicle. When getting in or out of your vehicle in slippery conditions, try to maintain at least three point contact at all times. That is to say that two hands and a foot or two feet and a hand should be in contact with the vehicle or ground at all times (four point contact is even safer).

-Keep walkways clean. Avoid leaving power chords, rugs or any other debris in walkways,

-Make sure that your home is well lit. Brighter lights are going to help you to see these slip and fall risks and dangers and avoid them altogether.

-Use absorbent mats in entrance ways during inclement weather. more Indiana Personal Injury Attorney Burton A. Padove handles injury cases throughout Northern Indiana. Call 219-836-2200 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. More Blog Entries: Indiana SUV Buyers Beware – Safety and Reliability are Not Always Priorities, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, May 26, 2013 Malpractice Watch: Indiana Hospital Infections an Ongoing Concern, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, May 22, 2013