When dealing with the possibility of a slip-and-fall accident, it is important to understand the main factors that can cause them.
This includes the type of flooring in any given establishment. After all, some floors do result in more accidents than others.
The risk of slick floors
The CDC discusses slip, trip and fall injuries, which can happen anywhere. This includes any texture of the floor, any type of flooring and any location.
However, it is probably not surprising that some types of flooring have a higher rate of accidents than others. While carpeted floors do still cause trip and fall issues, they often end up outmatched by the injuries and falls that slick floors cause.
The type of slick floor that causes the most falls can include ceramic or porcelain tiles, marble, hardwood, stamped concrete and vinyl flooring. Just on a normal day, these floors may cause people to slip, especially if the people are wearing shoes with soles that do not have good traction or grip.
What makes a slick floor even riskier?
In particular, these floors may also grow even slicker when wet. There are more sources for a wet floor than most people expect, too.
Of course, there is the possibility of someone spilling water or cleaning up the floor and forgetting to mark it. But there is also food debris, wax or polish that did not get properly cleaned or treated, and the possibility of customers tracking rain or snow into a building.
Together, these combined risks make it dangerous to try crossing a wet or slick floor without slipping.