With age comes wisdom. Unfortunately, that isn’t the only thing that comes with age. As people get older, they may also face many difficulties, both physical and mental.
For many seniors, these difficulties result in falls in the home. This can be particularly concerning, as many seniors may be unable to recover after an in-home fall.
While little can be done to prevent the physical and mental decline that causes seniors to fall, you can take other measures to protect your older loved ones from getting hurt or suffering unnecessarily after a fall.
Why Seniors Fall in the Home
As people get older, they typically experience some degree of mental and physical deterioration. The effects of this deterioration can easily result in a fall. For older adults, falls are frequently caused by some combination of the following factors:
- Loss of strength
- Compromised balance
- Impaired vision
- Weakness or instability due to past injuries or surgeries
- Diminished mental and physical reflexes
When these physical and mental issues are combined with common household dangers like uneven surfaces or stairs without railings, it can lead to a serious fall.
If one of your loved ones suffered a fall due to poor maintenance at the grocery store, you would likely contact a Florida slip and fall lawyer immediately. But you don’t have that option when they fall at home. Instead, you should take the following actions to prevent or mitigate in-home falls.
Make Sure Your Senior Loved One Has a Phone With Emergency Numbers Programmed Into It
While there are numerous steps you can take to help prevent a senior from falling in their home, no amount of prevention will ever be perfect. If an older adult falls, the best protection you can provide them is a smartphone with emergency numbers already saved in the contacts list.
That way, if your loved one falls, they need only press a button or two to get in touch with a family member, friend, or first responder. You may even be able to get them a voice-activated phone, potentially allowing them to get help even if they don’t have their phone on them when they fall.
Install Railings Throughout the Home
Many houses, especially older ones, don’t have railings on every stairway. Correcting this should be the first step for protecting a senior from in-home falls. Easy-to-grip handrails should be installed next to all stairs, even if it’s only a single step.
Handrails and railings should also be added to other parts of the home, including inside the shower or bath in every bathroom. Older adults are more likely to require extra stability in places where younger people don’t.
Make Sure Walkways Are Open and Uncluttered
Just because a senior is weaker or slower-moving than someone younger than them, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more likely to trip over their feet. More often than not, seniors will fall when they trip or slip on an object or obstacle. A younger person could easily catch themself, but an older adult may not have the strength or quickness.
To decrease the likelihood of falls, make sure all walkways are as clear and uncluttered as possible. Rearrange furniture and other decor as needed to create wide open pathways to travel through.
Arrange furniture around the sides of rooms, and avoid placing items in hallways where they might limit space to move. If guests remove their shoes when entering the senior’s home, create a convenient out-the-way place (like a shelf in a closet) for them to store their footwear.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to get pets like cats and dogs to respect this need. Seniors with pets should consider restricting where they can go so they don’t get caught underfoot and cause an unfortunate accident.
Improve Lighting Throughout the House
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of lighting. Many people use less powerful lighting than they should, especially at younger ages. As you get older, though, it gets harder to see in poor lighting.
This is particularly evident for anyone who tries reading in poor lighting at an older age. However, the same limitation applies to just walking around.
You can remedy this by using higher-wattage light bulbs in fixtures that support them and adding lamps in places with inadequate lighting. Smart devices can even allow seniors to turn these on and off without having to walk to every lamp or light switch.
Repair and Replace
Is there a worn spot in a carpet in your home that you’ve been ignoring for years because the cost to replace it would be prohibitive? If so, you’re not alone. Many homeowners have areas in their homes that could use repairs or maintenance.
While that’s the kind of thing you can get away with ignoring while you’re in your 30s or 40s, especially if you don’t have children, it becomes more of a problem when you reach your 60s or 70s.
Shortly before retirement is a good time to look over your home and identify uneven, cracked, or slippery surfaces. Your ability to fix these issues on your own will likely decrease as you get older, and they’ll present a greater danger.
Protect Your Senior Loved Ones to Prevent Life-Threatening Accidents
According to the National Safety Council, nearly 50,000 people aged 65 years or older died from falls in 2022. That number was only about 20,000 in 1999, and it increased every year between 1999 and 2022.
Comparatively, only a few thousand people under 65 died from falls in 2022. The difference in casualty rates is stunning and should serve as a warning to anyone who has a senior loved one, especially if they live alone.
Consult a Florida Slip and Fall Lawyer Today
When you or a loved one falls inside the home, you typically have few legal options. However, if the fall occurred outside the home, you may be eligible to seek compensation for the harm you’ve experienced.
Contact a Florida slip and fall lawyer at Schrier Law Group to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal options.
