Floor coverings - an accident waiting to happen
By David Waters, Managing Director CHIS and PrimeCare Insurance
December 10, 2011
It is the minor slips, trips and falls which give rise to the greatest number of claims from our care provider clients.
Non-slip, flat, clean floors are of paramount importance in managing your liability insurance claims frequency.
During the last winter (2010-11), a care home car park became snow bound. The duty manager felt it was appropriate to clear walkways through the car park in an effort to avoid anyone walking through the car park injuring themselves.
A member of staff who was late for work decided to walk through the snow rather than use the path. She fell and landed awkwardly, dislocating her shoulder.
The employee is seeking £100,000 in damages as she is unlikely to ever work again so the claim has been submitted.
Insurers are denying liability on the grounds she made a clear decision not to use the cleared pathway and was the cause of her own misadventure.
It's hard to see what more could have been done without clearing the entire car park of snow, but that is rarely possible and many would think it unnecessary. The courts are adjudicating the matter and we are yet to know of the outcome.
In a similar event, a care-home owner had built a gradual low ramp for his residents and staff to have easy wheel chair access to the outside. The owner also decided to cover the ramp with chicken wire in an effort to minimise the risk of a wheel chair slipping or gaining speed and losing control.
Everything worked fine until one employee who, at the end of her shift had changed out of her work shoes into high heels, caught her heel in the chicken wire, slipped and fell on the ramp causing her to break an ankle.
While our client was obviously concerned for their employee, they became quite angry when she lodged a claim against the care home for her injury.
There was potentially an issue because as she had finished her shift and subsequently changed out of the usual care home uniform, she was not entitled to bring a claim against the employer, especially as she was wearing inappropriate footwear for her workplace.
The claim has been settled since.
Lesson
These examples show the need to ensure all floorings around your business, both in your care home and used by your staff, is completely safe. Always consider the coverings from two aspects when taking appropriate steps to minimise risks - not only that the covering is preventing or limiting risk but if the covering itself is a possible cause for concern. This is most evident in the case where the chicken wire, believed by the employer to be the right thing to do, ended up causing injury to an employee.
For domiciliary care clients, there is a particular need to take the flooring into account within a customer's own home - threadbare stair carpets are a regular cause of injury for our PrimeCare Insurance clients.
Please do all you can by using hard wearing, non-slip flooring which you keep clean to minimise the risk of injury to all your staff, residents and their visitors.
How can we help?
It can sometimes be a little overwhelming for any business owner to look too closely at their operation. And in many cases, 'fresh eyes' are needed to pick up the things we have simply become used to over time and no longer notice. A key point here is that even small adjustments in even just one or two areas can avoid an accident and save you money … sometimes a lot of money.
This is one area where we can be of enormous value. Proactive risk management not only improves your business, but also maximises your time to manage and develop your business and improve your competitive position - it can also enhance your business's image, reputation and even valuation.
Our team of specialist consultants share their experience in the care sector to help you look objectively at your business and put the right protection measures in place for your situation. Most importantly, their straightforward approach will assist you with implementing some of techniques outlined above to reduce and manage your exposure. To talk it over contact David Waters at CHIS on 01273 645921, or you're welcome to send an email to david@chis.net.