Where Does Minnesota Rank for Slip and Fall Accidents?

Saturday night my wife and I went to dinner with some friends at an establishment in St. Cloud. When we arrived, we found a parking spot close to the door. I went ahead to open the door for everyone, and when my left foot stepped on the sidewalk, I slipped on ice that I didn’t even see. 

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Somehow, Thank GOD, I didn’t fall. The best way I can describe what it looked like would be a “drunk” on roller skates. I awkwardly slid into the wall of the restaurant while nearly separating an exterior light from the side of the building.  

I didn’t go down, and I was able to get out of the bed yesterday with no lingering soreness or pain, so it was a “two miracles in one” kind of deal.  

My wife and I were reflecting on what happened yesterday and from that conversation we began to wonder which states have the highest number of accidents from slipping and falling each year. Minnesota has to be up there, right? Well, sort of. 

After a quick Google search, I found an article from Personal Injury San Diego that listed what they said was the 20 worst states with fall injuries, and I was surprised that Minnesota was low on that list.  

This list says that Minnesota is the 18th on their list. So, which states are worse than Minnesota? 

California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania are the top five states. The biggest reason these states are weather related, although New York sees a good number of accidents each year due to crowded streets and the number of tourists who are there each day.  

A lot of the states that rank higher on the list than Minnesota, including my home state of North Carolina, see accidents each year due to the urban environments such as the mountain regions in the western part of the state where I grew up.  

The two states lower than Minnesota were South Carolina, which like a lot of the states above Minnesota blamed rain on the number of falls they see each year. Colorado was also below our state mainly due to the snow and ice they see each year.  

I know we are entering a stretch of better weather, but there’s a good chance that Mother Nature is not done with us yet. So, take it from me, watch those sidewalks, that first step can be a doozy.