Protect Your Company from Fraudulent Slip and Fall Schemes

logo-floor-matThe economy is tough and many people are out of work and finding it difficult to make ends meet. This has some people looking for alternative ways to get the money they need to survive and unfortunately, it’s often at the expense of someone else. In many cases, the hard working business owner finds himself in the middle of a fraudulent slip and fall scheme.

While there are many legitimate cases where workers and customers truly do have an accident and when it’s due to negligence on the part of the business owner, they deserve compensation. However, faking a fall and pretending to be injured seems to be a growing trend that all business owners need to protect their company from, in order to avoid paying out to someone that did not really get hurt.

How Faking a Slip and Fall Injury Affects Others

When people fake slip and fall accidents and the company ends up paying them compensation, it hurts the business. It’s possible that many scammers, who try to get money from a fraudulent accident of this nature, believe that the companies are big enough they can afford to pay. They don’t think they are hurting anyone but that is not the case.

The company has to pay the money from their profits and if they’re already having a slow season, it can be very damaging to their financial situation. For this reason, many businesses have to raise prices to make up for the money they had to pay out, which in turn costs all consumers more money. Every time someone receives compensation for a fake accident, it hurts everyone in some way.

Valleynewslive.com talks about this growing trend in the article Schemes & Rip Offs: Slip and Fall Scams. They reported that “Since the financial collapse in 2008 the number of suspicious slip and falls reported to the NICB have shot up 57% nationally”. That’s a huge number and something that all business owners should be aware of. You need to protect your company from this type of scam and here are a few suggestions on how you can do that.

Tips for Protecting Your Business from Scammers

The first step in protecting yourself from slip and fall scammers is to keep your floors clean and free of debris. Sweep, clean up spills right away, use wet floor signs and keep inventory off the floor. Keep a log of each time the floors are cleaned and inspected to help prove you took preventative steps in the event something did happen.

Use good quality commercial floor mats at entranceways and other areas throughout your facility to help reduce the risks of your visitors or employees from slipping and falling. Entrance mats are especially useful because they will help to keep your floors dry and clean making your facility a safer place for your customers.

It’s also a good idea to install security cameras because capturing the accident on film is the best way to determine if it truly was an accident or if the person is trying to scam you. You won’t have to rely on what they say happened, you can see for yourself. The film can also be used as evidence when you suspect someone is trying to make you the victim of a fraudulent slip and fall scheme.

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