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Broward County Fall Injuries – Facts

Statistics For Unintentional Deaths Caused By Falls For Adults Over The Age of 65

Below is an analysis of fall injuries (slip and fall, trip and fall) for adults over the age of 65 in Broward County, Florida for the year ending December 31, 2018. These data are from available online resources, which have been compiled using U.S. government data sources and data from the State of Florida.

Nationally, fall injuries remain a serious concern as millions of Americans each year are forced to seek help at their local emergency room after suffering harm in a fall.

Consider these facts:

• In the U.S., falls are the third most preventable fatal injury.
• Every 20 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
• Each year, 3 million older adults are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries.
• In 2016, approximately 30,000 adults aged 65 years or older died as the result of a fall.
• A person 65 or older is 4 times as likely to suffer a fall fatality as any other age group.
• For people aged 85+ years, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.
• In 2017, falls were the number one cause of unintentional injury deaths for Florida residents aged 65 and older. There were 2,817 deaths that year for this age group.
• In 2018, Broward County had 4,278 non-fatal hospitalizations caused by falls by adults over the age of 65.

Unintentional Fall Death Statistics For Broward County Residents Over The Age of 65

Using 2018 as a guide, in Broward County, Florida, the number of people dying who were 65 years of age or older from serious injuries they have sustained in an unintentional fall has been decreasing steadily over the last decade.  Broward County deaths from falls for this age group, whether at home or in a recreational activity like shopping or visiting a restaurant or movie theater, has fallen 9.2% from the year 2007 (87 deaths) to 2018 (79 deaths).

The likely reason for this drop in the number of deaths can be attributed, in part, to local and national fall prevention awareness programs, which focus on exercise and other related preventative steps.

Looking deeper into the numbers, in 2018, 79 adults over the age of 65 died in Broward County from an unintentional fall.  And 45.3% of all people who died from an unintentional fall in Broward County in 2018, were 85 years of age or older. Here is a chart provided by the Florida Department of Health showing those numbers:

Sources:

• National Safety Council, NSC Injury Facts (Up to Date Data) – Preventable Injuries
• CDC Report: Deaths from Falls Among Persons Aged ≥65 Years – U.S. 2007-2016
• National Safety Council – Fall Prevention Measures
• Centers for Disease Control (Facts About Falls)
• Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – Older Adults – Research And Statistics
• Florida Department of Health – Injury Prevention Program
• Florida Department of Health – Florida Health Charts – Injury Data
• Florida Department of Health – Non-Fatal Injury Hospitalizations