Slips, Trips, and Falls Statistics

Understanding the Dangers of Slips, Trips, and Falls

Slips, trips, and falls might seem like common mishaps, but they can have far-reaching physical and legal consequences. What might seem like a minor problem is actually one of the leading causes of emergency room visits in the United States. 

In 2024, these incidents continue to rank among the primary causes of injuries, harming individuals in various settings, from workplaces to public spaces. We will take you through the latest slips, trips, and falls statistics in 2024, so you can protect yourself from these dangerous accidents. 

With more than 1 million people impacted by these incidents, they account for a large number of personal injury claims. If you or a loved one were injured in a slip, trip, or fall accident due to someone else’s negligence, you may qualify for significant compensation. 

The Smith Law Center has been serving personal injury victims for over seventy years. We have a long history of representing people in premises liability claims, having won the largest slip-and-fall verdict ever awarded in Virginia. Contact us online or call (757) 244-7000 to learn more. 

There’s no such thing as a simple slip and fall. What might appear like a harmless accident at first glance has actually cost many their physical health and, for some, even their lives.

Slips, Trips, and Falls Statistics in 2024

Despite ongoing efforts by organizations to raise awareness about the hazards of slips, trips, and falls, these incidents remain a significant and persistent problem. Places like workplaces, retail stores, and construction sites are hotspots for these accidents, where an ordinary day can quickly turn to tragedy.

How Many Emergency Room Visits Do Slips, Trips, and Falls Account For?

While you might associate the emergency room with catastrophic accidents like car crashes, slips, trips, and falls are significant contributors to ER visits. 

In 2023, falls resulted in over 8 million trips to the emergency room, making them the leading case of ER visits, accounting for 21.3% of all visits. Among these, slips and falls were a major factor, leading to over 1 million ER admissions, or 12% of all fall-related visits. 

Seniors are at a heightened risk of slips and falls, with emergency departments recording 3 million visits for older adults because of fall injuries. 

Leading Cause Of Slips, Trips, and Falls

Poor lighting, cluttered walkways, and stepladders are just a few of the common causes of slips, trips, and falls. 

However, the leading cause of slips, trips, and falls are uneven or wet surfaces, contributing to 55% of these incidents. Uneven or wet surfaces may include: 

• Freshly waxed or mopped floors.
• Cracks or potholes. 
• Icy, greasy, oily, or soiled ground or floors. 
• Loose flooring, carpeting, or mats.

Workplace Slips, Trips, And Falls Statistics

Slips, trips, and falls are by far the most common hazards on the job. They put workers at risk of severe injuries, such as: 

• Sprains 
• Lacerations
• Strains
• Fractures
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
• Back and spinal cord injuries
• Death

Slips, trips, and falls ranked third among the top employer-related workplace injuries and are the primary cause of lost days from work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), slips, trips, and falls led to 450,540 work injuries and 865 work-related deaths. 

Furthermore, slips, trips, and falls make up about 15% of workers’ compensation claims.

Construction sites are especially prone to slips, trips, and fall incidents. In 2021, the construction industry saw nearly 1 in 5 workplace deaths, with over one-third caused by slips, trips, and falls. Almost all of these fatalities resulted from falls to a lower level, making up 46.2% of all fatal slips, trips, and falls that year. 

Slips, trips, and falls are severe and should never be underestimated. These incidents result in awful, even life-threatening injuries, as evidenced by the slips, trips, and falls statistics in 2024.

The Smith Law Center takes slips, trips, and fall claims seriously, giving clients the resources and attention they deserve. If you’ve suffered an injury in one of these incidents, contact us online or call (757) 244-7000 to find out if you qualify for compensation. 

How Many People Die From Tripping and Falling?

Not only do slips, trips, and falls lead to grave injuries, they can prove fatal. In 2022, slips, trips, and falls resulted in 46,653 deaths in occupational and non-occupational settings in the United States. 

Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, with an estimated 684,000 individuals dying from falls globally each year. Additionally, adults 60 years or older suffer from the highest number of fatal falls. 

Concerningly, fatal falls do not always involve great heights. Even falls from the same level can prove deadly, as evidenced by the tragic statistic that 144 workers lost their lives in falls on the same level in 2022. 

What Demographics Are Most at Risk of Dying from Slips, Trips, or Falls?

Slips, trips, and falls statistics reveal a concerning trend: approximately 30% of people age 65 or older experience fall incidents, with a significant portion being repeat incidents. 

Among older adults, slip-and-fall accidents rank as the second leading cause of injury-related deaths for people aged 65-84. However, for those 85 and older, slip-and-fall accidents claim the top spot. 

How Can an Attorney Help My Slip, Trip, and Fall Accident Case?

In slip, trip, and fall cases, proving that a property owner was responsible for your injuries can be tough but necessary to win your case. 

Property owners have a duty to keep their premises safe, but demonstrating their negligence in failing to do so can be complicated. That’s where a premises liability lawyer steps in to help. 

Enlisting the assistance of a lawyer can not only improve your chances of proving negligence but also ensure you get fair compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses. 

How The Smith Law Center Can Support You 

At The Smith Law Center, we’re more than just lawyers. We’re a team of people who have made it their life’s work to be there for people who have been wrongly injured. We are truly passionate about helping people recover and move forward in the face of tragedy. 

A lawsuit is an opportunity to get the financial support you need to be able to focus on healing and rebuilding your life following a slip, trip, and fall accident. 

Our team of experienced lawyers has recovered over a billion dollars for our clients, including a half-million-dollar result for a client who suffered a mild head injury in a slip-and-fall accident inside a Home Depot. 

Contact us online or call (757) 244-7000 if you’ve been injured in a slip, trip, or fall incident to discover if you’re eligible for compensation.