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Slip & Fall Injuries on The Rise in Colorado: What You Need to Know

Mark A. Simon April 3, 2019

According to one of the state of Colorado’s largest providers of workers’ compensation insurance, slip and fall incidents are on the rise in 2019. If you slip and fall on the job and are injured and require medical attention, the law offices of Mark A. Simon can help you get what’s rightfully yours. Our team of workers’ compensation professionals have been helping injured workers from Denver, Aurora, Littleton and surrounding communities get what’s legally entitled to them for years. Recent data from industry-leading professionals indicates that slip and fall injuries among Colorado workers are on the rise in 2019 due do a variety of differing factors.

What’s causing the lastest rash of slip and fall incidences among Colorado workers? According to the workers compensation insurance firm Pinnacol, milder weather has led to dangerous footing conditions across myriad industries statewide. The warmer weather often results in workers taking less precaution when working in what remains slushy and icy conditions, which can lead to accidents.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), The average slip and fall claim is just under $13,000. That said, there is no steadfast compensation for any workers’ compensation award due to the fact that each individual case is different. But that fact does not make the prevalence of slip and fall injuries any less daunting. BLS statistics also indicate that of the 5,190 fatal work injuries in the US during 2016, 849 were from slips, trips and falls. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published estimates that indicate that slips, trips and falls cost employers more than $11 billion per year.

Locally, the 2019 data for slip and fall injuries in the state of Colorado is particularly alarming. According to statistics from a variety of industries, claims for slips and falls are up nearly fifty percent for January and February of 2019 when compared to the same timeframe last year. Ice and snow, to no surprise, are the biggest culprits in most of the claims. The statistics are particularly alarming due to the fact that the greater Denver region and the state of Colorado as a whole have yet to endure what are traditionally the state’s two snowiest months of the calendar year: March and April

While construction laborers, delivery drivers, resort employees, ski patrolman, truckers, and processing site employees are usually considered among the highest risk for slip and fall industries, the latest trend appears to quite different.

The most recent data indicates that the were primarily from office workers slipping in parking lots. Workers’ compensation insiders consider the most recent spike in slip and fall claims among “white-collar” workers to be a result of more lackadaisical attitude toward safety after a few tame winters and recent warming trends.

What Constitutes a Slip & Fall Claim?

It's clear that throughout Colorado, injuries that result due to slips and falls are quite common. However, that does not necessarily mean that your slip and fall case entitles you to compensation under the law. If you’ve been injured in a fall at work, the workers’ compensation experts here at Mark A. Simon can help you navigate the often dizzying ways that a court can deem a slip and fall case admissible or inadmissible. In order for the property owner to be legally liable for your slip and fall injury, an unsafe condition must have caused the fall. It is not enough to simply slip, or stumble, while on someone else’s property. As reiterated by some of the cases above, instances of unsafe work conditions include unsafe, accumulation of snow and ice, wet and slippery floorsbadly damaged sidewalks, lots, stairs or ladders. Furthermore, there must exist proof that the landowner has caused the unsafe condition or allowed it to persist.

After major storms, property owner are almost always required to take measures to clear snow and ice from sidewalks that other people who conduct business in their commercial properties are likely to use. However, they are not required to make the sidewalks perfectly dry and clear. For this reason, a slip and fall immediately after a snow storm is not likely to give rise to a valid claim, although as earlier stated, data from the first two months of 2019 appears to indicate otherwise.

Getting hurt on the job can be difficult and confusing, which can make navigating the Colorado workers’ compensation process and slip and fall claims all the more difficult. The law offices of Mark A. Simon can help you file all forms and communicate with your workers’ compensation insurance company with confidence, making sure you recover all the wages you deserve and are legally entitled to during the time that you are out of work for both recovery and treatment. If you’ve been seriously injured in a slip and fall accident at your place of work, contact our team today to learn how we can help.