St. Louis Hospital Workers Are Prone to Workplace Slip and Fall Accidents

Hospital workers are at a great risk of injury from work-related slip and fall accidents.

Hospitals across the nation employ thousands of workers. While hospitals are designed to treat ill and injured people, the workers themselves can be injured in work-related accidents. One of the most common workplace accidents that causes injuries are slip and fall accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the incidence of slips, trips and falls at the same level that caused injury was 90 percent higher for hospital workers than it was for all other industries combined. (Learn more about trip, slip and fall prevention.)

Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents in Hospitals

Today, hospitals are more crowded than ever before. At any given time, there are people cleaning, transporting patients, moving medical equipment from place to place, waiting to see a doctor, or visiting family and friends. This can create a number of hazardous conditions that have a potential to cause injury to hospital workers. Poor maintenance practices and equipment malfunctions can create dangerous conditions that can cause a worker to slip and fall. Common workplace hazards include:

• liquid spills
• torn carpet
• debris left in walkways
• inadequate lighting
• defective elevators
• slippery floors
• stairwells without railings
• defective escalators
• exposed electrical wiring
• uneven stairs

Common Injuries Suffered in Slip and Fall Accidents

While many of us may think that slip and fall accidents cannot result in serious injury, the opposite is often true. Slip and fall accidents can cause injuries that result in long-term medical problems and may prevent the worker from returning to work. Serious injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents include:

Spinal cord injury – These injuries involve damage to the spinal cord, the bundle of nerves that enables the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. Spinal cord injuries can be caused by trauma that moves the vertebrae out of place, causes fracture, or puts pressure or causes damage to the spinal cord itself. In extreme cases, the spinal cord may be severed, resulting in permanent disability including complete paralysis.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – TBIs occur when a worker hits his or her head on another object or on the floor with sufficient force. In serious cases, TBIs can cause physical and cognitive problems that prevent an injured worker from returning to work or to live independently.

Broken bones – Fractures are a common result of slip and fall accidents. These injuries occur when a bone suffers significant trauma that causes it to break. Fractures may take a long time to heal and in some cases, the worker may need to undergo surgery.

Soft tissue injury – These injuries are also a common result of slip and fall accidents and include lacerations, sprains, tears, bruises, and sprains. Soft tissue injuries are often not serious and resolve on their own.

Workers & Industry