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Home » Legal Articles » How To Prevent Falls Accidents At Home

How to Prevent Falls Accidents At Home

Accidents occur even in the safety of our own homes. The National Safety Council reported last year that "falls are the leading cause of injury-related death in most homes, followed by poisoning, fire, choking, suffocation, and drowning."

You can help prevent falls injury by identifying accident prone areas at home such as:
• Stairs
• Ramps
• Landings
• Porches
• Balconies
• Terraces

However, more often, fall accidents are caused by negligence or the improper construction of stairs, ramps, landings, porches etc. When this happens, building contractors and builders are liable for negligent injuries under the torts laws.

To ensure safety at home, the Standard Building Code requires building contractors and builders to adhere to certain dimensional requirements in home construction:

• Stairs - "Treads (depth) and risers (height) should be proportioned so that the sum of two risers and a tread, exclusive of projection of nosing, is not less than 24 inches or more than 25 inches. The height of the riser shall not exceed 7 3/4 inches and treads, exclusive of nosing, shall be no less than 9 inches wide."
• Ramps – Ramps must be built with the maximum slope of 1 in 8, and a 3 foot by 3 foot landings is required at the top and bottom. Handrails are also required.
• Handrails – For one and two family homes, handrails are required where there are stairways with three or more steps. The handrails should be built not less than 30 inches or more than 38 inches above the leading edge of the tread.
• Guardrails – Guardrails must be built for balconies, porches, ramp, landings, and in open side of the stairs and must measure 30 inches above ground level but not more than 42 inches.

If you become a victim of a falls injury due to negligence caused by an improperly constructed part of the house, it is best to call a personal injury lawyer to help you file your claims.

However, there are cases when a fall accident is caused by one's carelessness. If you are planning to pursue a claim, your careless behavior may affect the outcome of your claim. Ask yourself questions whether your carelessness contributed in any way to the accident. When negotiating for a claim, the insurance adjuster will likely ask the same questions.

Therefore, if you happen to sustain injuries from accidents involving vehicles, brain injury, animal attack, premise liability, product liability, slip and fall injury, general negligence, medical malpractice, construction liability, and spinal cord injury, a personal injury attorney is the right man for the job.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

The Principle of Abundance

One of the first great things I learned when starting my business, is that there are two ways of thinking. You can believe that there is more than enough business to go around or you can have the scarcity mentality. Either way you believe you are probably right.

The principal of abundance promotes the belief that not only is there enough business to go around, and that the universe has room for us all to benefit equally, but also commands us to give away what we have. This means giving referrals, ideas, assistance and any other thing you can think of to help others. It means that we build people, relationships and help others because we know and believe that somehow, some day it will all come back to us. It also promotes win-win situations.

The scarcity mentality advocates holding onto whatever it is you have for fear that someone else may take it. That means holding onto your cash, your ideas, your time and your clients as tightly as you can. It means that when you find a client you do everything within your power to hold onto that client for fear that the 'competition' might take them away. In fact people who operate under the scarcity mentality often base many of their decisions on what their competition and others do. And that is operating out of the fear that someone will get more than you will or will succeed before you do.

I have learned that the only shortages we face are in our own minds. And that the more we give of our approval, our time, our smiles, our energy, our wisdom and our ideas the more accepted, less stressed, happy, energetic, wise and creative we become. Building people and relationships can serve both the 'giver' and the 'getter'. There is enough for everyone!

One of the ways I practice abundance is by sharing leads, and information. I also try my best to promote others who may be in a similar business as I am. Forming alliances and strategies that work for both of us can increase both of our businesses. We may want the same clients, but if we pool our knowledge and resources, everyone benefits. In visiting our site you may begin to notice that there are several people who do similar or the same things. Yes, they know each other, and many of them share business. This helps both of them in that they practice what I call 'co-opetition' instead of competition.

Changing our mindset about the principle of abundance is not always easy. It takes practice. I love the vision that was created through a book that I have read called, "The One Minute Millionaire". It says, 'There is an ocean of abundance and one can tap into it with a teaspoon, a bucket or a tractor trailer. The ocean doesn't care.' Practice the principles of abundance this week. There is enough for everyone!

Copyright 2004, Mandie Crawford. All rights reserved.