Protecting Your Business from Slip and Fall Lawsuits

By hiring 1st Impressions Pressure Washing LLC to pressure wash your properties sidewalks, driveways, and other walking traffic areas, you are doing more than keeping their establishments looking good, you are protecting your business from possible slip and fall accidents and lawsuits.

Reports from CNA insurance state that people slip and fall on property for five major reasons:

Lack of slip resistance on walking surfaces (i.e.: no mats in a restaurant kitchen)
Poor walking surface conditions (i.e.: uneven surfaces, snow and ice, etc.)
Poor visibility (i.e.: no lighting in a parking lot)
Lack or poor condition of handrails and guardrails
Poor accessibility

Regular pressure washing maintenance will help clients avoid poor walking surfaces by cleaning off grease, oils, accumulation of sand and dirt, and other kinds of deposits from often-used surfaces. Regular pressure washing completed by 1st Impressions Pressure Washing LLC makes working conditions and public use safer, perhaps the most important reason for regular service. Injuries from falling can lead to permanent disabilities and even death, specifically for the elderly.

How common are these kinds of incidents? Russell J. Kendzior writes in his book Falls Aren't Funny: America's Multi-Billion Dollar Slip-and-Fall Crisis that:

Approximately 25,000 people a day are victims to slip-and-fall accidents. The expense of these injuries is running $3.5 million per hour, every hour of the day, every day of the year. That's over $30 billion per year.
The average cost of a slip-related injury exceeds $12,000.
The average cost to defend a slip-and-fall lawsuit is $50,000.
Plaintiffs win 51% of premises liability claims.

Someone who is injured from a fall can sue under Premise Liability Law, “the legal principles that hold landowners and tenants responsible when someone enters onto their property and gets hurt due to a dangerous condition. With few exceptions, premises liability claims are based on negligence,” as described on Hg.com. The legal definition of negligence, according to the Legal Information Institute, is:

"A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act."

In other words, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant did not act at a level of care that would keep the ground or floors from being hazardous. Regular pressure washing might be considered “behaving with a level of care” by someone with “ordinary prudence.” It certainly would be better than risking no cleanings at all.

So in closing if you would like to decrease the possibility of a slip or fall lawsuit on your property please consider having 1st Impressions Pressure Washing LLC clean your property on a regular basis. We can custom tailor a maintenance program to fit any clients needs.