Why Slips, Trips and Falls Matter

Not a small problem

Many people think a slip or a trip is a small thing. You lose your balance, you feel silly, and you carry on. But a fall to the floor can break a wrist, a hip or an ankle. A person can hit their head on a desk corner or a machine. Some injuries keep people away from work for weeks or months. A few change their lives for good.

Slips, trips and falls happen in every type of workplace: offices, shops, warehouses, kitchens, factories, hospitals and building sites. They are one of the most common causes of injury at work in many countries.

Example 1: the coffee spill

In an office, a person spills a little coffee near the kitchen door and walks away to find a cloth. A colleague comes round the corner carrying papers, steps in the spill and falls. She breaks her wrist and cannot type for six weeks. The spill was there for less than two minutes.

Example 2: the delivery box

In a shop store room, a worker leaves an empty box on the floor beside the shelves. Later, another worker carries a heavy crate past the shelves. He cannot see his feet. He trips on the box and twists his knee. He is off work for three weeks.