Reducing Risk

1
Reducing Risk
Cut Liability In Health Care Facilities With The
Right Flooring Choices
2
Falls Pose Safety, Financial Risk
Slip and fall injuries can happen anywhere, even
health care facilities. Ensuring that your
hospital, doctors office or clinic has proper
flooring can greatly reduce chances of a slip and
fall injury happening at your facility. This will
greatly improve safety, as well as reducing your
risk of costs associated with these injuries,
such as higher insurance rates, lawsuits, medical
bills and workers compensation claims.
3
Slip And Fall Stats

• Falls are a leading cause of accidental injury,
  leading to about 8.9 million ER visits per year.
• Falls cause more than 25,000 fatalities per year.
• People over age 55 are at heightened risk of
  being injured in a slip and fall accident.
• Falls cost American businesses 13 billion in
  2012.

4
Slip And Falls In Hospitals
Falls are a particular problem for the health
care industry. Patients with mobility issues,
fast moving staff rushing to rooms, issues
concerning floor care and maintenance and
patients disoriented from medication all make
hospitals an area of elevated risk for these
accidents. Slip and falls can be costly in
treatment, litigation, insurance and workers
comp costs, so reducing risk by improving floors
is important.
5
Upgrade Flooring, Downgrade Risk

• Upgrades to your flooring can reduce the chance
  of an injury related to a slip and fall accident.
  Some common flooring types used in hospitals to
  achieve better safety include
• Luxury vinyl tile
• Rubber flooring
• Vinyl tile

6
Luxury Vinyl Tile
Luxury vinyl tile is an increasingly popular
option for health facilities. This type of
flooring is easy to install and maintain and
holds up well in hospital environments. In
addition to the practical benefits, luxury vinyl
tile also offers hospitals a wide range of colors
and design options, making it easier to achieve a
less institutional look.
7
Rubber Flooring

• Rubber flooring is also an increasingly popular
  flooring choice for hospitals, allowing
• Less noise
• A cushioned surface
• Fewer cleaning needs
• Natural resistance to bacteria

8
Solid Vinyl Tile Flooring

• Solid vinyl tile is a cost-effective solution for
  many medical facilities, offering
• Reduced noise
• Good skid resistance, reducing the chance of
  falls.
• Less need for chemical cleaning.
• Easy to customize with graphics and illustrations
  to make wayfinding easier.

9
Slip and Fall Investigation

• If a slip and fall accident happens at your
  facility, having a forensic investigator examine
  the site of the fall and other relevant evidence
  can be helpful if the matter ends up in
  litigation or becomes the focus of a disputed
  insurance claim.
• Slip and fall investigators use a number of tools
  to investigate claims, including
• Pendulum testers
• Pendulum skid resistance testers
• BOT-3000
• Preventative testing of your floors can also help
  apprise you of problem areas or floors that need
  replacing.

10
About 4Floors
4Floors provides forensic slip and fall
investigative services to a variety of businesses
and organizations. 4Floors can help establish the
facts in a slip and fall matter, better arming
clients with the information they need to prevail
in court. 4Floors clientele is half plaintiffs,
half defendants. To learn more, visit
http//www.4floors.com/ or call 818-919-4300.