Interesting facts from the CDC on elder adults and falls. If you or your loved one has suffered a #hospital fall or #nursinghome fall, contact Hughey Injury Lawyers.

Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview

Each year, one in every three adults age 65 and older falls. Falls can cause moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and head traumas, and can increase the risk of early death. Fortunately, falls are a public health problem that is largely preventable.

Twenty to thirty percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures, or head traumas. These injuries can make it hard to get around or live independently, and increase the risk of early death.
Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).5
In 2000, 46% of fatal falls among older adults were due to TBI.

Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls.8 The most common are fractures of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle, pelvis, upper arm, and hand.
Many people who fall, even if they are not injured, develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, and in turn increases their actual risk of falling.

Who is at risk?

Fall-related Deaths

The death rates from falls among older men and women have risen sharply over the past decade. In 2010, about 21,700 older adults died from unintentional fall injuries.

Men are more likely than women to die from a fall. After taking age into account, the fall death rate in 2010 was 40% higher for men than for women. Older whites are 2.4 times more likely to die from falls as their black counterparts.
Rates also differ by ethnicity. Older non-Hispanics have higher fatal fall rates than Hispanics.

Fall Injuries

People age 75 and older who fall are four to five times more likely than those age 65 to 74 to be admitted to a long-term care facility for a year or longer.

Rates of fall-related fractures among older women are more than twice those for men. Over 95% of hip fractures are caused by falls.In 2010, there were 258,000 hip fractures and the rate for women was almost twice the rate for men. White women have significantly higher hip fracture rates than black women.