Many business owners hear ‘slip and fall’ and think of snow, ice, salt and sidewalks. While it’s extremely important to take action against slip and falls that happen outside, preventing the ones that happen inside matters just as much.

Canadian winters can make it easy to overlook the fact that slip and falls happen year-round but here’s a stat that’s hard to forget: according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, more than 27,0001 workers get injured annually from ‘same level’ slip and falls — and that doesn’t even include customers.

So to help you make your business as safe as possible, we’ve put together some tips on preventing slip and fall incidents. And because there unfortunately isn’t any way to guarantee no one will ever injure themselves on your property, we’ll let you know exactly what to do in the event of a slip and fall.

Prevention tips

  • Sweep and mop: Clean all spills as soon as they happen and sweep away any debris off floors.
  • Sign up: Put up a sign to warn people about spills or wet floors.
  • Consider a carpet: Rugs and mats are great ways to prevent slipping, just make sure they’re firmly secured to the ground.
  • A brighter idea: The inside of your business should be well lit too, replace used bulbs or faulty switches as well.
  • Cover up cables: Cables on the floor are fine, just make sure they have ‘cord covers’ over them to prevent tripping.

What to do if it happens to you

If a customer or employee is involved in a slip and fall incident, you should:
  • Have Accident Report forms handy for the claimant and any witnesses to fill out.
  • Document the incident in as much detail as possible.
  • Take dated photos of the scene where the incident happened. Capturing the area’s conditions and the footwear of the claimant is especially important.
  • Take down the claimant’s contact info
  • Be sure to date your accident report form, have an employee witness its completion and keep a record of it for at least two years.

It’s good to have an idea of how to prevent slip and falls along with the steps to take if one ever occurs on your business property. The final piece of this loss prevention puzzle is having the right insurance policy to protect your business in case the advice above can’t. Taking the time to review your policy and making sure you’re adequately covered will keep your focus, bottom line and business from slipping.