Survey shows importance of safety

Supermarkets, hospitals, stations and schools have all featured on a list of places Brits would consider suing should they take a tumble while on the premises.

A new survey by safety flooring experts Tarkett polled 1,000 people and ties in with the expansion of the company’s popular Safetred range.

Top of the list of organisations people would consider suing should they suffer a slip were supermarkets with 33% of respondents saying they would think about legal action if they fell in store.  

Worryingly for employers, 23% of people would consider suing their place of work if they fell on the premises.

Sarah Igglesden, brand manager at Tarkett UK, said: “The results of this survey show that society is getting increasingly litigious and with more than 8,000 major injuries caused by slips, trips or falls reported to the HSE last year*, there is a strong possibility that an organisation could be on the receiving end of a legal suit.  

“To combat this, organisations need to ensure facilities are up to standard and measures are taken to prevent incident and injury.  

“One way of reducing the likelihood of someone slipping over is to install high-quality, high-performance safety flooring.”

Public sector institutions don’t get off lightly either, with the survey revealing that nearly 20% of people would sue a hospital while 11% would consider legal action against a school.  

To help prevent slips Tarkett is expanding its industry leading Safetred safety range to provide the market with a complete solution for floors and walls.

There are two new collections, Safetred Ion and Safetred Aqua.  

The Safetred Ion collection is available in Linen and Contrast. Linen is available in 14 colours with a woven pattern effect designed to be more homely.  

Contrast is a decorative, three dimensional, multi flake effect safety floor suitable for entrances and corridors and available in six colours.

Tarkett’s Safetred Aqua range has an improved specification that includes specially designed top embossing, as well as aluminium oxide particles.  

It’s suitable for barefoot and shod and for use in wet and dry areas, so is ideal for the leisure, healthcare, aged-care and hospitality industry.

Both Aqua and Ion are manufactured in the UK and co-ordinate with Tarkett’s range of impact resistance wall coverings and accessories.  

With an TRRL Pendulum test of >36(R10) slip resistance, Ion and Aqua is safety flooring that doesn’t look like safety flooring, so perfect for living areas and bedrooms in places such as care homes, hospitals and in social housing.

Sarah said: “As our survey shows, the importance of good safety flooring is growing all the time.  

“But this doesn’t mean that designers and specifiers have to opt for flooring with traditional designs, which can sometimes mean expensive maintenance.  

“These new additions to our Safetred range expand the possibilities of what can be done with safety flooring and provide the functionality and accessories that are increasingly in demand

“By providing a co-ordinated range of safety products for floors and walls we’ve created the ultimate design solution that we expect to be extremely well received.”

Top ten places / organisations Brits would consider suing:

• Supermarket – 33%
• Train station – 23%
• Place of work – 23%
• Cinema – 20%
• Hospital – 19%
• Local authority – 16%
• Gym / leisure centre – 15%
• Pub restaurant – 15%
• School – 11%
• Corner shop – 11%