These painful incidents cost society more than 600 million euros per year in insurance claims, healthcare costs and sick leaves. Research shows that, perhaps surprisingly, up to half of those who slip and fall are under 30 years old.
Some 80,000 people seek first aid annually because of falls in Finland, researchers said at a winter safety seminar in Helsinki on Wednesday. Organisers included the Finnish Red Cross, the Finnish National Rescue Association and the Federation of Finnish Financial Services.
In 2010, insurance companies paid out 135.6 million euros in compensation for slips and falls. The vast majority of these occurred in winter. The average fall results in costs of 6000 euros.
"Most of these accidents are minor and only involve small costs. Usually it is a very small share of accidents that cause high expenses," said Janne Sysi-Aho, occupational safety director at the Federation of Finnish Financial Services. For instance, if an elderly person falls and breaks a hip, the annual care costs can range between 15,000 and 40,000 euros.
Speakers at the seminar emphasised that the keys to avoiding such accidents include proper no-slip footwear and monitoring of weather conditions.
