Women tend to slip and fall more often than men, but a higher proportion of men sustain serious injuries from falls, according to statistics released on Friday by the Council of Labor Affairs’ Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Of 25,364 occupational compensation cases related to falls from 2006 to 2010, 97.2 percent were classified as occupational injuries, while 2.8 percent involved permanent disabilities or death, the institute said.
Women tended to suffer from occupational falls more often, especially in the 50-to-65 age bracket, which generated 5,361 compensation claims.
In comparison, only 4,721 men applied for benefits in the same age group.
However, men were involved in more cases related to injuries that resulted in permanent disabilities, with 427 cases, compared with 215 cases for women, while 64 men and only six women died from falls, institute figures showed.
Regardless of gender, the risk of falling increased with age, indicating that age was an important risk factor in such accidents, the institute said.
The average age of women who applied for occupational injury benefits was 47.9 years old, while it was 44 years old among men.
“Women need to stand for long hours because of their jobs, and most wear uniforms with narrow skirts and high heels, making it easy for them to lose their balance and fall,” the institute’s report said.
“Fatigue in calf muscles increases women’s likelihood of falling when walking, and 90 percent of injuries are to limbs,” the report added.
If a workplace’s lighting is inadequate or the floor is slippery, uneven, filled with puddles or obstructed by objects, it increases the likelihood of falls, the institute said.
Employees should take precautions to prevent slipping or falling at work, including keeping the floor clean and putting up warning signs, the institute recommended.
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