The summer months are officially here. For many, this means spending time with family and friends at the pool, barbeque, or beach. It also means that there is a higher risk for slips and falls on your personal property. We’ll discuss the causes of slip and fall accidents during the summer months and how to prevent them. If someone experiences a slip-and-fall accident, seek medical care first. Then consider contacting a Nashua personal injury attorney. Know the personal injury lawyer Nashua at Coates Law Office is ready to help you.
Causes of Summer Slips and Falls
Many things cause slips and falls.
- Wet surfaces
- Slippery substances like algae growing on sidewalks or pools
- Faulty stairs: this is especially true for pool decks that were not built correctly.
- Entryways with obstructions like potted plants or furniture
- Drips from water, floor care products, and other liquids
- Irregularly shaped objects like rocks that are in the walkway
- Water on sidewalks: often caused by a damaged gutter
- Poor lighting: this can be especially dangerous for nighttime walks to your car with friends before heading home.
Preventing Slips and Falls
Take part of a day and look around your property and note the following things. Fixing or repairing these items will improve the safety of your property and will work to prevent slips and falls.
Unprotected stairs:
- Ensure that each stair set has railings.
- Only use railings meant to endure the weight of adult human beings, which are fixed to the ground or other immovable structures with proper reinforcement.
- Ensure each stair has a material on it that provides traction for shoes that won’t slip.
Rock Gardens or Stone/Brick Borders: Ask your contractor if they can be made less irregular or removed altogether, as this is a common cause of outdoor slips and falls in the summer.
Water on sidewalks: Look at the spots on the ground under the gutters along their entire length. Gutters leak and fail during seasonal changes from storms and normal fatigue. A damaged gutter can lead to water accumulating on the ground below.
Outdoor lights: Are there enough lights in and around your home at night so that guests can see where they are going inside and outside? Fix any outdoor lights that aren’t working. Consider adding lights near doors and walkways. Simple solar lights may be enough to help someone avoid a slip and fall.
Landscaping: Is your landscaping well done? Do you have plants and bushes that could easily be tripped over or otherwise cause a slip and fall accident? Consider trimming back bushes away from walkways and overhangs, especially if you plan on moving large objects in those areas.
Quality of walkways: If the walkways feel slippery even if there is no water, this could mean that algae or moss is growing on the surface. Algae enjoy a warm moist environment. Scrub these surfaces until they are free from slippery materials. Pay special attention to any uneven areas, such as a previous winter’s frost heave or tree roots beginning to push the ground up. Consider spray painting these sections to call them out to passersby.
Food prep areas:
- Check for any puddles of water on the floors near the areas where food is prepared.
- Look for spilled drinks or foods.
- Check for grease patches where people cook meat outside or fruit salad drippings that have dried up alongside kitchen countertops.
Attempt to clean up all spills promptly.
Personal Injury Lawyer Nashua
Prevention is always the first step to take when it comes to keeping your property safe this summer. However, if someone has already slipped and fallen on your property, then they might want to sue you for damages.
When looking for a Nashua personal injury attorney, a personal injury attorney in Nashua can help defend against any such lawsuit filed on your behalf. Coates Law Office has at least one personal injury attorney in Nashua to work with individuals in this situation and advise you on the best way to proceed.