Michigan Social Security Blog

Michigan Social Security Disability Law Blog

Safety Guidelines for Senior Citizens to Avoid Slip and Fall Injuries 

November 18th, 2008

Our office is concerned about the care and safety of the elderly. According to AARP, falls are the leading cause of injury for older people, both fatal and nonfatal. All it takes is a slip on a patch of ice or a rug, a stumble on the stairs or a brief loss of balance to cause serious injury or even death.

Each year one of every three Americans, 65 and older, falls and almost a third of these individuals require medical treatment according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the same study, nearly 16,000 older people died from falls. Broken bones and cuts aren’t the only injuries suffered when an older person loses his or her footing. Half of the 16,000 deaths cited above were caused by traumatic brain injury, which happens when victims hit their heads.

Beyond the personal costs, health care expenditures related to these mishaps are truly staggering. If more effort isn’t put into prevention, the CDC predicts, the direct medical costs resulting from falls each year in this country will escalate from approximately $20 billion today to $54.9 billion by 2020.

Prevention begins with you - keeping yourself and your environment, workplace, community and home safe. Five things you can do right now to reduce your risk:

  • Exercise to maintain your flexibility, strength and balance. Even modest exercise can dramatically reduce the risk of falls
  • Make your home and surrounding as safe as possible by installing safety features such as shower grab bars.
  • Eliminate hazards like throw rugs and electrical cords or wires that can cause you to trip.
  • Take your medications as directed so you don’t become dizzy or disoriented. If your medicines do make you dizzy, tell your health care provider.
  • Have your vision checked to ensure that your eyeglasses prescription is adequate, and that you don’t have any other problems that would affect your ability to see.
  • Light your home so you can see where you are going. Adequate home lighting is sometimes a dilemma for those of us wanting to conserve energy.
  • Make sure that stairways, entrances and commonly-used areas are well-lit, and leave energy-conserving nightlights on near bathrooms and in hallways.

    • If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury as a result of a fall, we urge you to consult with an experienced attorney.

    Protect your rights. Get the Bernstein Advantage today.

    This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Michigan Social Security Blog. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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