Slip and Fall Accidents: Leading Cause of Injury & Death in Elderly

• October 20, 2017
• Slip & Falls, Issues in Aging

Slip and fall accidents can happen at any time and any place. Sometimes it is just that, an accident plain and simple. Other times, it may be due to the negligence of another party. Whatever the cause, the elderly – those 65 and older – are at a greater risk to fall and suffer a serious, sometimes life-threatening, injury.

The Facts from the CDC

29 million falls. 3 million emergency department visits. 800,000 hospitalizations. 28,000 deaths.

• More than one out of four older adults – those 65 and older – fall each year.
• One out of five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury.
• Each year 2.8 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries.
• Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture.

Over 10,000 people in the US turn 65 every day. Falls not only increase with age (27% in ages 65-74; 30% in 75-84; and 37% in those 85+), but among older American adults, they are the number one cause of injuries and death from injury.

[Source of statistics: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

Effects of a Fall

• About half of the elderly who could walk before a fall in which they broke a hip cannot walk as well afterward, even after treatment and rehabilitation.
• Many develop a fear of falling, which impacts their self-confidence. This often causes an elderly person to give up favorite activities, visiting with family and friends, and more, decreasing their quality of life.
• Decreased activity can lead to future falls because muscles and joints become stiff and weak.
• Often, fall injuries can lead to the loss of independent living, hastening the need to move to a nursing home or assisted living facility.

Slip & Fall Accidents: Is Negligence Involved?

Slip and fall accidents can be quite serious for the older adult, causing loss of independence, impacting the ability to move around and do day-to-day activities, suffering permanent disabilities making it necessary to use a walker, cane or other assistive devices, and more.

When negligence is a contributing cause to an elderly person’s slip and fall accident, it is important to take legal action to recoup medical costs and other damages. Unfortunately, the reality is that it takes older adults longer to recuperate and they are less likely to recover fully from their injuries.

Questions? Our knowledgeable staff is available at (877) 284-6600.

Examples of Potential Negligence-Involved Slip & Falls

These are just a few examples of slip and fall accidents in which a third party may be negligent.

• A sidewalk or parking lot has dangerous cracks, abrupt edges, uneven surfaces or ice
• A retail store, restaurant, office building or other property has slippery floors (with no signage), cluttered aisles or unsafe spaces
• A property owner fails to maintain his or her property resulting in dangerous conditions such as broken stairways or railings
• A landlord fails to provide sufficient handrails or safe/wide treads or has inadequate lighting in hallways and stairways
• A nursing home has negligent staff that fail to provide a safe environment and supervision for elderly residents

While more than 1/3 of all fall accidents for the elderly occur as a result of hazards in the home, these individuals are still at great risk when at other places such as stores, shopping malls, doctor’s offices even a nursing home. According to the NFSI, each year more than 60% of nursing home residents will suffer a fall.

When determining negligence, we will look at things such as:

• If the fall was caused by tripping on an object, was it out of place, increasing the risk of an accident?
• Could a warning have been placed to limit the risk of an accident?
• Did a broken object that should have been maintained contribute to the accident?
• Was the fall due to insufficient or inadequate lighting?
• Was the hazardous area there long enough that the responsible party should have fixed it?

Proven Results from a Trusted & Experienced Law Firm

Settlement against pharmacy for dangerous stairs. An elderly female client sustained severe injuries when she fell down stairs at a local pharmacy. Until the accident, she was self-sufficient and lived with her husband at their home. Unfortunately, the injuries required the client and her husband to move from their home of 30 years into a nursing home. An expert engineer was able to prove that the stairs were defective and violated Code requirements, resulting in a settlement for the client.

Settlement against restaurant for dangerous stairs. An elderly female client fractured her hip when she fell down the stairs of a restaurant. After her hip replacement surgery, she developed post-operative respiratory failure and other complications that required her to be hospitalized for almost two months and ultimately led to her death. We were able to prove the stairs were defective because of inadequate lighting and the installation of an improper handrail.

Questions? Our knowledgeable staff is available at (877) 284-6600.

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