People often don’t take slip and fall accidents as seriously as they should because many falls do not cause injuries. But one out of five falls does cause a serious and costly injury such as a broken bone or a head injury. These injuries can drastically reduce a person’s movements and hamper their quality of life. Slip and fall victims tend to have one or more of the following injuries:
- Broken wrists or arms, sprained or broken ankles, or fractured pelvises and hips. In fact, for elderly persons, over 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling. The angle of the fall and our reflexive movements to stop our fall tend to make wrist, hand, and arm injuries more likely.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Falls are the most common cause of brain injuries and concussions. Brain trauma is very serious and can cause long-term damage such as chronic headaches, depression, behavioral changes, and seizures.
- Emotional trauma. Especially for elderly slip and fall victims, they may become afraid of falling again, even if they’re not seriously injured this time. This fear may cause a person to cut down on their everyday activities. When a person is less active, they become weaker and this increases their chances of falling.
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