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.¹

Falls cause more injury-related deaths in Australian than transport crash fatalities.¹

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.¹

A Western Australia dies every 26 hours, is admitted to a hospital every 20 minutes and presents to a metropolitan emergency department every 12 minutes due to a falls-related incident.²

In WA in 2017 the leading cause of individuals presenting to a hospital due to a falls-related incident was due to a slip, trip or stumble.²

In WA, the average length of time spent in hospital due to a falls-related injury in 2017 was 6 days per admission.²

References:

1. 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
2. Sweeney, R., Meade, R. & Wold, C. Western Australian Falls Report 2019. 28 (Injury Matters, 2019).