One in four people over the age of 60 have a fall each year, and one in three people over the age of 65 experience a fall each year.

The most common injuries from a fall are fractures to the hip and thigh, followed by injuries to the head.

Slipping, tripping and stumbling were the most common causes of falls leading to hospitalisation.

The length of time spent in hospital from an accidental fall and related injury is, on average, 7 days.

In men and women over the age of 65, falls remain one of the leading reasons for older people being admitted to hospital at a rate of 38% compared to 13% for transport related injuries.

Falls cause more injury-related deaths in Australian than transport crash fatalities.

 

AIHW: Bradley, C. (2013) Trends in Hospitalisations due to falls by older people, Australia 1999-00 to 2010-11, Injury Research and Statistics no. 84. cat. no. INJCAT 160. Canberra: AIHW. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129543591