I've seen a senior take a bad fall, his back landing bewteen the gutters (not the gutter panels where the staff walks on). Seeing his back arch back as he landed hard put some on bended knees. Thankfully he was alright.
As far as laydown area, there are some bowlers who tend to lay their ball down on the approach. In fact, one night on the same pair, I've seen a guy sticking then using easy slide!! A lot of it! All because he was sticking due to the other bowler laying the ball down on the approach. That was happening more in the handicap leagues I was in a year ago...