Restaurants ‘Slipping and Tripping’ into Financial Disaster

November 29, 2004

  • November 29, 2004 at 7:13 am
    Long Time Broker says:
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    Are they kidding!! From the first restaurant that I wrote with the old INA back around 1975, it was common knowledge with the underwriters that slip, trip & foreign items in food were always a big exposure. How much did they pay for the study.

  • November 29, 2004 at 7:24 am
    Russell Kendzior says:
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    Although interesting, the story was not really news. Our non-for-profit organization (NFSI)has developed a comprehensive approach to slip-and-fall accident prevention which targets both the insurance industry and their clients. The real problem as we see it is that most retsuarant owners simply do not care about accident prevention and spend their money accordingly. Maybe that’s why this story continues to be old news.

  • November 29, 2004 at 11:46 am
    John Liberatore says:
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    Missing from the article is the claim management aspect. We have let claims organizations-carriers and TPA’s alike- become too unresponsive and lacking aggressive investigation and negotiation techniques which in turn drives claims cost up. Standards like 24-hour contact takes us back to the 70’s. Ask your carrier or TPA what their latest innovatin was and they will likely explain a relationship in place that has no bearing on the number that matters most; the Loss Payment. Let’s hold the TPA and Carrier Management accountable and benchmark their performance.

  • November 29, 2004 at 11:49 am
    flashman says:
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    first, RIC are NOT an insurance company so who knows what information or methodology they used to analyse numbers… & #’s provide by whom?

    second, regional differences are so vast as to make these so called results useless except in a general sense

  • November 29, 2004 at 12:52 pm
    Kevin Rasmussen says:
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    As a former restaurant manager I wonder when they will start to use a non-slip flooring surface. I worked in a Wendy’s and several pizza restaurants and the floors were always smooth tile. Easy to mop but they became slippery as glass when wet.

    I was at a Carabbas recently and saw 3 employees and 1 customer slip on some spilled iced tea. I saw the spill & 1 person slipped before they had a chance to mop it up. The three others slipped before it was fully dry. The spill happened right where tile & carpet came together & I don’t think people were anticipating the change in footing.

    What’s needed in so many areas is better design. When you combine a greasy atmosphere, a smooth tile floor and any amount of moisture you’ll have a fall and most likely a claim.

  • November 30, 2004 at 3:06 am
    Long Old Time Broker says:
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    Maybe it would also help if people like Kevin wouldnt sit back laughing while people go by slipping.

  • December 2, 2004 at 12:10 pm
    Bob H says:
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    The problem here is nothing new. As one of the other comments points out, this is more of a morale hazard for restaurant owners who aren’t going to do much to change the flooring as long as there is affordable insurance.

    Most supermarket chains that have experienced this problem, especially in the produce sections have switched over to non-slip surfaces.

  • January 28, 2005 at 9:47 am
    Paul Swisher says:
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    There are affordable non slip flooring treatments available without replaceing exisiting flooring material. My company http://www.marylandsafeflooring.com is located in Maryland. We provide a non slip floor treatment which increases the static coefficient of friction on tile, concrete, marble, terrazzo, porcelain, enamel and other hard surfaces that are slippery when wet. Our treatment greatly reduces the occurance of slip and falls, has a two year warranty and meets or exceeds ADA and OSHA requirments for commercial flooring. Visit our website for details or call 410.256.0259. We will be happy to provide you with a free on-site slip and fall evaluation. Our treatment costs are determined by square footage and range from $.75 to $1.75 per square foot. NOW that is affordable. Slip resistant floors protect your valued customers and employees form injury which your business will ultimatly pay for through increased insurance premiums, lost work hours, and customers word of mouth.

    Paul Swisher
    Maryland Safe Flooring
    Slip & Fall Prevention Specialists.

  • February 8, 2005 at 4:49 am
    mike fraley says:
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    MY COMPANY IS CONSOLIDATED SAFETY GROUP LOCATED IN HENDERSON KENTUCKY, WE HAVE A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. OUR C.S.G. ANTI SLIP TREATMENT WORKS ON ALL TYPES OF TILES AND ACTUALLY CREATES A MICROSCOPIC TREAD PATTERN ON THE TILE THUS MAKING IT SAFE WHEN WET BY RAISING THE S.C.O.F OF THE FLOOR TO MEET OR EXCEED A.D.A AND O.S.H.A RECOMMENDATIONS. BUT WE BELIEVE THAT S.C.O.F TESTING WITH A U.W.T. IS THE KEY TO SAFE FLOORS.BY TESTING AND KNOWING IF YOUR CLEANERS WORK THEN YOU CAN MAKE THE NEEDED ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR FLOOR, WHETHER IT BE OUR ANTI SLIP TREATMENT OR A BETTER CLEANER. OUR WEBSITE IS NOSLIPFALL.COM OUR NUMBER IS 1-888-818-9038

  • February 16, 2005 at 2:07 am
    Tom Thompson/Risk Manager says:
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    Like any exposure, slip and falls can be treated, reduced and or mitigated with management commitment. We partned with a company, Nu-Safe Floor Solutions. They treated our floors – trained our team members and monitored the coefficient of friction. Our goal was to reduce our cost of Risk. We needed a partner that really understood the dynamics of a slip and fall. As a result we have drastically cut our cost of risk.

  • February 28, 2005 at 8:02 am
    Affordable Non Slip Treatment says:
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    Our Company GripIt located in Northen California uses a affordable uniquely formulated chemical compound designed to greatly reduce slip and fall accidents. Please visit our website for more information (www.gripit-nsf.com) and see how we can help your buisness meet OSHA and ADA standards and reccomendations.

    Jennifer K Elrod

  • May 25, 2005 at 2:26 am
    Bob Beck says:
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    Slippery when wet. The problem is how do you measure it? How can you improve the wet slip coefficient of friction? And how can it be documented? The root problem behind most floor problems is that they are soiled. You cannot clean a floor with a mop and bucket. Soil, Chemical, Grease are mopped and rinsed into your mop bucket to be reapplied to another part of the floors. Five years ago we introduce a piece of equipment that puts the cleaning solution down, scrubs it with two counter rotating brushes at 550 rpms and then EXTRACT the soil into recovery tank. Your floors are now clean, safe and dry. We have been able to demonstrate Clean, Safe and Dry but until last year we could never measure it. We now incorporate the Universal Walkway Tester in all demonstration. We test before cleaning and hand the document to the customer, after cleaning with the Turbolava we test again. To receive our NFSI certification we had to be able to document that the machine using water only would improve the wet slip coefficient of friction 25%. Traction treatment works if the floors are clean. Chemical play a roll if use correctly. The problem is in the application and daily maintenance. Traction treatment can burn and degrade the surface; chemical residue can be reactivated with water causing floors to become slippery with the smallest amount of moisture. How many of your customer understands the PH scale of 0-14? . Cleaner above 9 are considered very good degreasers almost impossible to rinse off with a mop and bucket. Have they every read there MSDS sheet? I think what Risk Managers, Owners, Operators need is information to be able to make decisions. We try and do more than just sell our products. We educated the consumer.
    Customer case profile:
    138 locations, each location doing well over a Million a year. They were concerned about appearance. We tested prior to cleaning and measured .19 to.29 in different location well below OSH .50 and ADA .60 standards. After cleaning with water only the grout was clean and that shinny film on the floor was gone. More importantly the next test measured .54 to .59…. the customer is now INFORMED. He understands where he stood and where he can now stand. (With out slipping).
    Picture this a pregnant 20 year old slips and falls and has a miscarriage. The Lawyers determined the ceramic tile from the factory measures .60 above the safe standard; they will be removing from litigation. It now falls on the owner, cleaning contractor. The problem is the owner want to have his floors cleaned as cheap as he can. The contractor grabs a product that has a PH of 11 and mops it on. It cuts the grease with ease. When its dry it looks clean. The problem is the spilled ice tea reactivates the chemical and now you have a slippery floor. Who’s to blame? Some ones is going to pay its just a matter of how much and were you negligent. No your product, understand the procedure and test for effectiveness. Your best offense is a good defense. Inform your customer, present your solution, and help them limit their liability. NFSI — Nation Floor Safety Institute understands the problem and can help. They have been a great resource for me. Contact them at http://www.nfsi.com. I can be reach at
    817-283-0454 Bob Beck
    Master Distributor For –
    Turbolava USA.
    Put your mop and bucket away
    You cannot mop a floor clean

  • May 28, 2005 at 12:58 pm
    Tom Thompson CIC,CRM says:
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    There is a process that is available to the restaurant industry that will increase the COF and reduce/mitigate your slip and fall claims. I know, I was the Risk Manager for Papa John’s until I retired and went into a consulting practice. Please contact me if you are interested in a pramatice approach that truly works at a very low cost PSF.

  • September 13, 2005 at 7:09 am
    Tony Davenport says:
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    All good and true comments below, except one left out. Our legal system, with attorney ads on tv and bill boards on every corner all will continue. In Florida we need Tort reform. The restaurant owner can prevent with good house keeping and a Nu-safe floor program.

  • November 5, 2005 at 1:52 am
    Sam Ruffalo says:
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    Tom Thompson states in his article to contact him if more information is wanted.

    Please send me his contact no. or email address. Thank you.

    Sam Ruffalo

  • January 9, 2006 at 1:35 am
    Bob beck says:
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    It keeps coming back to slip and fall and what to do about them. The Porta Dry system was designd with that in mind. You can not prevent wet floor conditions but how you deal with them will make a differance.Dry in seconds
    Check it out http://WWW.mopdry.com

  • March 19, 2010 at 3:57 am
    SlipDoctors says:
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    Call Us! Slip Doctors. We have the best distributorship around. http://www.slipdoctors.com
    888-436-5404

  • September 1, 2010 at 10:21 am
    Adam Wicker says:
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    Our company based out of Carmel, Indiana Invisigrip has a solution to all these problems, for small businesses and residential as well. Our application will create “microscopic” tread patterns on your concrete or tile surface making it safer when wet than dry. Our application will not change the look texture or feel of said surface only resulting in a safer floor for you or your employees and customers. If interested visit Invisigrip.com for more information, mention this post for 10% off of an application.



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