Personal Injury Blog

California Marks National Fall Prevention Week

September 23rd, 2011
Fall Prevention Week

Fall Prevention Week

Hospitals and private groups in California are marking National Fall Prevention Week, this week.  The Senior Injury Prevention Partnership and the Fall Prevention Center at the Highland Hospital in Alameda County organized a march to draw awareness to fall accident risks, especially those faced by senior citizens.

According to statistics, thousands of people every year aged 60 and above suffer serious injuries from slip and fall accidents.  These injuries are serious enough for these people to be admitted into a hospital.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, approximately one in three adults aged 65 and above suffers a slip and fall accident.  These accidents leave persons severely injured, with hip fractures and head injuries.

Slip and fall accidents can be severely injurious to people of all ages, but especially detrimental to the health of senior citizens.  In these people, serious injuries like hip fractures can accelerate the onset of death.  Fall accidents are the leading cause of injury death for adults about age 65.  They’re also the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and hospitalizations for people in this age group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death rates from fall accidents for people in this age group have increased substantially over the past decade.  In the year 2009, there were 2.2 million fall accidents involving senior citizens, with injuries that were serious enough to require a visit to the emergency room.  More than 580,000 senior citizens had to be hospitalized for injuries from fall accidents.

Los Angeles slip and fall accident lawyers also know that falls involving senior citizens can also take a heavy economic toll.  The injuries resulting from accidents involving people of this age group are serious, and can take a long time to heal.  For instance, a hip fracture in a senior citizen can take a much longer time to heal, because seniors may also suffer from a condition called osteoporosis, in which there is a loss of bone mass, leading to brittleness of bones.  These bones are weaker and susceptible to fracture.  Additionally, seniors will have limited treatment options, because there are other medical conditions that make them ineligible for surgery.

What’s worse is that the risk of slip and fall accidents and serious injuries increases with the person’s age.  The risk of a fall accident in a person aged 85 and above is about four times the risk for a person between 65 and 74 years of age.  Approximately 90% of all hip fractures involving senior citizens are caused from slip and fall accidents.

Homes and nursing facilities must have adequate fall prevention measures in place to prevent accidents involving people of this age group.  Floors must be slip proof, and staircases must have stable railings.  Bars and railings must be installed in bathrooms and bathtubs.

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