The Concrete Repair Market

Opportunity Set in Stone.

The U.S. is covered by about 9 billion cubic yards of concrete, most of which is at least 20 years old. Add to that the 500 million estimated cubic yards of concrete that are poured every year and you can see why concrete maintenance and repair has become such a booming industry. However, most businesses that specialize in fixing sidewalks, driveways, curbs and parking lots use costly replacement techniques that drive up user expense, create dangerous work conditions and require inconvenient downtime.

Given the considerable drawbacks of traditional repair strategies, the prospect of replacing damaged concrete is not something most home and business owners want to consider. Unfortunately, if they have no other alternatives, they have no choice. It’s the law.

The Truth about Trips & Falls

Uneven concrete on sidewalks, driveways and parking lots is more than an unsightly nuisance: it’s a dangerous invitation to personal injury and lengthy litigation. Through Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal Law requires the removal of all trip hazards from all pedestrian walkways. And the ADA defines a trip hazard as any vertical change of a quarter-inch or more.

Trip-and-fall accidents are among the most common causes of injury in the country. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, “unintentional falls” were the No. 1 reason for emergency room visits in 2002 for all age groups except individuals between 15 and 24, for whom “unintentional falls” were the No. 3 reason for emergency room visits.

Reporting figures from the same year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that 86% of the country’s 205 million adults took walks during the summer months and 40% of them walked 15 days per month or more.

Look beyond the general population and the numbers get even more disturbing. For example, the CDC reports that 33% of adults 65 and older fall each year, with 20-to-30% suffering moderate to severe injury. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that nearly 20% of all disabling workplace injuries are the result of falls.

With so many occurrences of trip-and-fall accidents, one question naturally comes to the forefront: who pays for all the necessary medical care? Many times, the costs fall squarely on the shoulders of the unfortunate home and business owners with uneven concrete on their property. Trip hazards are big business for personal injury lawyers. But preventing them could be big business for you.

Click Here to review the Grind-All Concrete offering details