Do you know how many people go to the emergency room after a fall? Do you know how many people die from falls? How about the most common injury after a fall?
If you don’t know a lot about slips and falls, you’ve come to the right place. You need to know some of these statistics, especially if you or someone you know is at risk.
Keep reading to learn these and more statistics about every slip and fall you can think of. You’d be surprised about how much there is to know about these common occurrences.
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There are so many interesting statistics to know when it comes to slips and falls. From doctors’ visits to flooring, we have everything you’ve ever wanted to know about slips and falls. We even have some things you’ve never thought of.
1. Millions of People Go To The Emergency Room For Falls Every Year
Eight million people are seen by physicians in emergency rooms across the nation following falls. No, we’re not exaggerating.
This statistic speaks to how common falls are in the United States. If you’re baffled by this number, just wait until you hear about where these falls happen.
2. Many Falls Happen in The Workplace
The majority of workplace falls happen to those who work in construction and manufacturing. If you think about their equipment and working conditions, this makes sense.
Construction workers may fall from ladders, get hit by pieces of wood, hurt themselves with a hammer, or do a million other dangerous things.
3. Falls Are Becoming Increasingly Common
Whether it’s because of more dangerous working situation or because of the aging population, falls are becoming more common. If falls continue to increase at this rate, there will be seven deaths due to falls every single hour by 2030.
Perhaps, the increase in falls over time is due to the lack of fall protection. Even though there are laws for how to protect employees in potentially dangerous situations, some employers and employees do not follow these regulations.
Companies that are very small with 10 or fewer employees account for 60 percent of falls in construction. For other industries, this rate still remains higher than normal.
4. Older Folks Should Watch Out
The elderly population is more likely to fall and more likely to have a serious fall that results in an injury or death. In fact, one in three elderly people has at least one fall every single year. This may not come as a surprise to you.
The elderly population is more likely to fall because of issues that affect their coordination and walking abilities. They’re more likely to become injured because they are frailer and more fragile than other populations.
There are 9,500 elderly deaths per year due to falls. For those who are aged 65 to 69, every one of 200 falls causes a hip fracture. If that person is over 85, this increases to one in every ten falls.
5. Hip Fractures Are Very Common
95 percent of hip fractures occur in elderly patients who have fallen. Because of the fragility of their bones, elderly populations get hip fractures and hip dislocations easily from falling.
Hip fractures can be a big problem for those who get them. If you have a hip fracture, you cannot walk. 300,000 elderly patients are hospitalized every year due to these fractures.
An injury this serious leads to a lower quality of life because the patient cannot walk around and enjoy life as they normally would. It can also lead to more health problems since they can’t do much more than lie down when they’re first recovering.
6. Every Single Fall Is Preventable
In one way or another, every single fall that happens is preventable. Usually, a fall happens because of an issue with safety. This is true of falls that happen in a business setting, in a residential setting, and in other settings.
For example, a fall may occur in a business setting as an employee is working on a construction project. As we discussed, falls are the number one cause of death for construction workers.
Falls at Work
Construction workers that do fall could have fallen because of negligence by their employer, other employees, or even themselves:
Their employer could be providing their construction workers with an unsafe environment. There may be too many things on the floor, not even protective equipment, or minimal supervision.
The other employees around them could have not noticed that the employee was there while they were driving, walking, or handling heavy equipment. They could also not be supervising their fellow employee while he or she is performing a dangerous task.
The employee themselves could not be paying attention. They may walk into a dangerous construction zone, perform a safety task poorly, or not follow safety procedures completely.
Falls at Home
In falls that happen at home, negligent parties could include the property owner, a family member, or the person who fell:
The property owner may not have a property that is up-to-date on the codes that would make the home completely safe. They could have bad flooring, broken appliances, water leakages, and more.
A family member could cause a fall if they’re not paying attention to those around them. For example, a young child could cause their grandmother or grandfather to fall if they’re not paying attention to where they’re running or where they’re leaving their toys.
The person who fell may be trying to walk through a water puddle or perform another dangerous, high-risk tasks. They could have not reported an issue with their homes such as a broken floor tile or a missing handrail in the shower.
After the fall happens, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is as long as the situation is fixed and resolved.
7. Nursing Homes Should Keep an Eye Out
Because the elderly population is at such a high risk of falling, it should come as no surprise that nursing homes experience a lot of falls every year. In fact, 60 percent of nursing home residents fall every single year.
As we discussed, falls can lead to serious injuries and even death. This is why nursing homes have to be wary of their patients and take extra precautions to prevent falls.
It can be difficult to ensure the safety of every single resident but measures like non-slip shoes and non-slip flooring are a good start. This can present the 50 to 75 percent of nursing home residents that fall every year. This is twice the rate of falling in nursing homes.
The average nursing home with 100 residents reports 100-200 falls a year. About 10 to 20 percent of those falls result in serious injuries like skull fractures, hip fractures, spinal injuries, and more. 1,800 elderly residents die every year from falls.
8. Having More Health Factors Means Having More Falls
If someone has multiple health factors, they’re at a greater risk of having a fall. This means that they could be at a greater risk for injuring themselves from that fall.
There are several health problems that can impair eyesight, worsen balance and coordination, cause muscle and joint pain, and more. Symptoms like these can make it more likely that a patient will take a tumble.
9. You May Miss Several Days of Work
About 22 percent of all slip and fall accidents lead to approximately 31 days of missed work for those who have fallen. This kind of warped schedule should be convincing to those who have employees. If you keep a nice workspace, you don’t have to worry about losing employees (or injuring them) if you follow proper protocol.
Missing this much work is also hard on the employee who may need the income.
Falls actually cause more TBIs than car accidents. Nearly half of all traumatic brain injuries are caused by falls. This statistic applies to both the elderly and the pediatric populations.
Falls also cause the most fractures, especially in elderly patients. Falls account for 87 percent of fractures for individuals over the age of 65.
What To Do If You Have a Slip or Fall
If you find that you’ve taken a tumble, you need to make sure that you take care of yourself. Every slip and fall is different, but you should always make sure to seek medical care if you have any pain.
As you now know, injuries from falls are common. You don’t want an injury to go untreated for a long time. If you had a slip or fall injury, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible after an accident.
Call 1-800-897-8440 now to schedule an appointment with an experienced injury doctor near you.
