Falls

Our expertise

Our experience and knowledge of human factors engineering, as well as building and safety codes and standards, enables us to analyze environmental and behavioral issues to render an expert opinion about the factors that contributed to a fall.

How we help

Cases have included trip-and-fall, slip-and-fall; falls on walkways, stairs, and ramps in public, commercial and industrial settings with issues including visibility, illumination, perception, attention, handrails, slip resistance, safety practices, warnings

Causes of Falls

Falls may occur because of one or more of the following factors:

Environmental factors may include:

  • Irregular walkway, such as a displacement between sidewalk slabs
  • Liquids or other debris on the walking surface that decrease slip resistance
  • Insufficient lighting or contrast for pedestrians to perceive obstacles or debris
  • Absent or inadequate handrails
  • Distractions such as pedestrian or vehicular traffic
  • Inadequate warnings of trip or slip hazards

Behavioral factors may include:

  • Failure to wear lenses to correct vision, or wearing sunglasses indoors
  • Ingestion of medication, alcohol or drugs that may affect perception or balance
  • Carrying packages that impede vision of surroundings or affect balance
  • Inattention to environmental conditions such as construction zones or rain

Falls: Slip Resistance

Slip resistance is related to a combination of factors including the walkway surface, the footwear bottom, and the presence of foreign materials between them.

Walkway surface.

A slip occurs when there is insufficient friction between a pedestrian’s footwear and the walkway surface. Different materials have different slip resistance. A walkway surface with significantly different slip-resistance under dry and wet conditions is hazardous, as is using flooring materials with different levels of slip-resistance in adjacent areas.

Contamination.

Water and other liquid contaminants are the most typical slipping hazards. Adequate entrance flooring systems, such as matting, can reduce the extent of contamination. Canopies and gutters also can redirect rainwater from entranceways to reduce the extent of contamination.

Footwear.

Heels with minimal heel-to-surface contact (such as high heels), or shoes with leather or other hard, smooth-surfaced soles can

Maintenance.

The slip resistance of walkway surfaces is affected by the type of detergent and cleaning tools, as well as by the frequency of cleaning. Maintenance should be appropriate for the type of pedestrian at the facility as well as the amount of traffic.

Falls: Example Cases

Cases have included trip-and-fall, slip-and-fall; falls on walkways, stairs, ramps, and ladders in public, commercial and industrial settings.

Trip and fall on mat in grocery store

Sixty-five-year-old woman entered grocery store, tripped on edge of rain mat in entryway, could not regain her balance, fell and broke her hip.

It was dark outside. The rain mat had been placed in the entryway because of rain earlier that day. The edges of the mat were curled. No signs or cones had been placed in the entryway.

The plaintiff’s attorney retained the human factors expert. After expert read depositions, conducted a site inspection, and interviewed the plaintiff, he provided a verbal report to the attorney on typical patterns of gaze and locomotion, dark adaptation, expectation, visibility of obstacles, warnings, and safety practices. The case was settled before deposition.

Slip and fall on wet marble floor in building lobby

Sixty-four-year-old man exited elevator, took two steps onto ground-floor lobby, slipped on wet floor, could not regain his balance, and fell.

The incident occurred on a rainy day. No rain mats or warning signs had been placed at the lobby entry.

The plaintiff’s attorney retained the human factors expert. After expert read depositions, examined maintenance records, conducted a site inspection, examined shoes, measured slip-resistance under wet and dry conditions, and interviewed the plaintiff, he provided deposition testimony on typical patterns of gaze and locomotion, visual perception and visibility, expectation and human information processing, slip resistance, warnings, and safety practices. The case was settled before trial.

Trip and fall on walkway displacement at gas station

Thirty-five-year-old woman entered mini-mart at gas station to pay for her gas. Upon leaving the mini-mart, she tripped on a 3/4 inch displacement in the asphalt, could not regain her balance, fell and broke her wrist.

The incident occurred on a sunny afternoon. The woman had not visited this gas station before. There was much vehicular traffic at the gas station and much pedestrian traffic at the mini-mart.

The plaintiff’s attorney retained the human factors expert. After expert read depositions, conducted a site inspection, viewed a videotape of the incident, and interviewed the plaintiff, he provided a written report and deposition testimony on typical patterns of gaze and locomotion, visual perception, light adaptation, expectation, human information processing, visibility of obstacles, and safety practices. The case was settled before trial.

Slip and fall outside office building on ramp

Fifty-seven-year-old woman walked from her office to her car on a rainy afternoon, taking a familiar route that included a ramp. As she descended the ramp, her foot slipped, she could not regain her balance, and she fell.

The defense attorney retained the human factors expert. After expert read depositions, conducted a site inspection, examined shoes, and measured slip-resistance under wet and dry conditions, he provided a written report on typical patterns of gaze and locomotion, visual perception and visibility, expectation and human information processing, and slip resistance. The case was settled before deposition.