ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 14

Economic Dimensions of Slip and Fall Injuries
Englander, F
Farrleigh Dickinson University, Economics and Finance Department, NJ

Terregrossa, RA
St. John's University, NY

Hodson, TJ
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

(Received 15 September 1995; accepted 19 October 1995)

Abstract

This paper provides an update of annual economic costs imposed by fall injuries. Such costs include medical, rehabilitation, hospital costs, and the costs of morbidity and mortality. These costs are projected to the year 2020, based on changing demographic trends.

The market for slip and fall injury prevention is analyzed for the elderly and for those in the workplace—two high risk groups. Questions as to whether this market operates in a socially desirable manner, or whether government intervention is justified on efficiency grounds, are considered.

Essential aspects of cost-benefit analysis are reviewed in the context of a prospective evaluation of interventions to prevent slip and fall injuries. The cost-benefit analysis framework is applied to part of the FICSIT experiment (a major intervention to reduce falls among the elderly) and to recent revisions in Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations directed at reducing workplace falls.

Keywords:
forensic science, walkway safety, fall injuries, economic costs, cost-benefit analysis, government intervention

Paper ID: JFS13991J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13991J
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.