Still, certain groups suffer from this type of injury more than others, like kids and older people, and some studies show that it occurs more to women than men. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship. Sacramento Premises liability lawyer Ed Smith has been practicing personal injury law for over 30 years. The owner has high liability in protecting the invitees as they are invited by the owner to his property for some business purposes. More serious injuries from a fall on the stairs can require emergency room visits or surgery. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Annually, around 1,076,558 people in the USA suffer from a staircase-related injury. In fact, more than one out of four older people falls each year, 1 but less than half tell their doctor. Would you like email updates of new search results? The property owner has the responsibility to have knowledge of the defects of the stairs and should have repaired that. In conclusion, understanding the odds of different causes of death can be a helpful way to put our risks into perspective. What can happen if you fall down the stairs? You can even check if the staircase was built abiding by the staircase codes for the risers and runs or the height of the handrails, which caused your accident. However, never try to pet unfamiliar by Managing Editor | Apr 18, 2023 | Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Toxic Chemicals, Workers Compensation. The breadth and depth must not differ more than 3/8 of an inch. Elderly people commonly suffer from physical conditions that make the use of stairs very difficult and dangerous. The 150,000-to-1 odds of a Covid death are even longer than the odds over your lifetime of dying in an earthquake or being killed by lightning. And although a high portion of those in the study were older adults, the highest statistic (67.2%) found that it was a combination of these people, along with younger children. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Injury. Petting dogs is enjoyable and fosters a bond between humans and dogs. With a range of color options available and options such as Glowline and Sightline, safety isnt the only benefit you can reap from installing them. Thats why older patients might easily fracture their ribs, hips, or even legs. 5 How many people die from vending machines a year? For a list of all ICD-10 causes click here. Injuries Sustained from Falling Down the Stairs . The annual risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average . Getting a comprehensive medical evaluation as soon as possible following a fall will help detect any underlying damage. (4) Rates based on less than 20 deaths are likely to be unstable from year to year and are therefore not included. If the unanticipated trespassers are injured, the owner cannot be held liable. These events are relatively rare, but can still be dangerous and should be taken seriously. If you fall down a set of stairs, you may suffer from a wide range of injuries, such as broken wrists or arms, shoulder injuries, neck or back injuries, spinal cord injuries (including paralysis), a broken hip, a broken tailbone, internal bleeding, organ damage, or even traumatic brain injury. Stevens JA, Ballesteros MF, Mack KA, Rudd RA, DeCaro E, Adler G. Gender differences in seeking care for falls in the aged Medicare Population. In a 2017 study written in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, it was found that every year, there is an average of over one million injuries that come as a result of falling down the stairs. Prevent overcrowding around the casualty; Make space so that he or she can breathe better. From ensuring that there are handrails provided on each staircase to guaranteeing that each stairway platform and landing is at least 30 inches in depth, it will help to create stairs that are safe for all your employees. Are you responsible if someone falls down your stairs? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. More adult women than adult men suffer stairway falls because most falls occur in the home, and women spend more time at home than men. These injuries may happen due to stairs not adhering to regular staircase guidelines, although there are a lot of general staircase accidents too. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. Featured Image Credit: Andrey_Popov, Shutterstock, Getting a bad report back from a home inspection can be gut-wrenching. They are especially dangerous for kids and seniors, and people can get seriously hurt and even die from injuries caused by a fall on a staircase. He has no responsibility to warn the trespassers other than keeping a signboard of the potential dangers. Causes and circumstances of fatal falls downstairs. Be watchful of your every step on the stairs. For example, you could: Stairway safety shouldnt only be practiced by you, but others in your family to try and ensure that any accidents are prevented. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Even though useful in one way, these things can be highly toxic to the environment and the health of the people. The parietal and temporal bones were those most frequently fractured in head injury cases. Emergency Department Visit Rates for . As long as you follow all the necessary prevention guidelines, theres much less need to worry about staircase accidents. The most severe injuries are internal bleeding, organ damage, and traumatic brain injuries, which can be fatal in some instances. Academic Emergency Medicine 2000&359;7(2):13440. The elderly face a higher likelihood of falling because they often experience muscle weakness and potential dizziness from taking a variety of medications. Odds Of Death In The United States By Selected Cause Of Injury, 2018 (1). On average, a child under five years old is treated in the emergency department almost every 6 minutes due to falling down the stairs. Vitamin D deficiency (that is, not enough vitamin D in your system). Stair safety products, such as handrails, non-slip stair treads, stair nosing, and anti-slip coatings, provide users with the peace of mind that the environment is as safe as possible from the get-go. Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! If a staircase accident occurs, the property owner, the tenants, or the people who are responsible for the maintenance can be held liable for the injuries caused to the third party. People with this injury can have pain, numbness, tingling, burning, crushing headaches, reduced motor function, unusual clumsiness, and more. (CBS News) Every six minutes, an American child under the age of 5 falls down the stairs and is rushed to the hospital. Lifetime odds. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Helfer (1977), Nimityungskul (1987 . The majority of accidents happened at home (n = 90, 97.82%). More than 12,000 people meet death from falling down stairs every year. Odds Of Death In The United States By Selected Cause Of Injury, 2019 (1) Number of deaths, 2019 Lifetime odds; Fall on and from stairs and steps: 2,521: 1,652: Drowning and submersion hile in or falling into swimming pool: 747: 5,576: The International Building Code(IBC) mandates staircase codes for commercial buildings. Florence CS, Bergen G, Atherly A, Burns ER, Stevens JA, Drake C. Medical Costs of Fatal and Nonfatal Falls in Older Adults. All Rights Reserved. There may be variations to these codes depending on the state you are in. Created with aircraft-grade aluminum and an abrasive particle compound, these heavy duty treats are suitable for both indoorand outdoor purposes. 2012 Sep;43(9):1522-6. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2010.11.056. In this retrospective study, which covers a period of 11 years, all cases of death which included a fall downstairs in their case history, were collected from the Forensic Institutes of the Universities of Bonn and Greifswald, Germany. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Showcasing just how dangerous stairs can be in every environment, it indicates the importance of following the correct practices. In most cases it is not possible to determine the cause of the fall and/or death solely by means of external examination. These typically include the following: The severity of the injury will, of course, also depend on the type of staircase thats involved (e.g whether its carpeted or not) and the way in which you fell. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. What are the consequences of falling down the stairs? Most states have classified the people who are injured on others property as invitees, licensees, and trespassers. As a requirement for many buildings (whether its industrial, commercial or municipal), this heavy-duty feature also works to make a stairway safer for all that use it. Webbased Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides data on the lifetime odds of dying from various causes, and this information can be eye-opening. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Research has identified many conditions that contribute to falling. Over 39% of the falls that occur among pregnant women are staircase-related. (2) Deaths per 100,000 U.S. standard population. If you cannot move after the fall, try to call loudly to attract the attention of other people. By staying informed and taking a proactive approach to our health and safety, we can help reduce the odds of premature death and live healthier, more fulfilling lives. FOIA So how can you help to prevent these injuries from occurring? Not only can your home have issues that need to be addressed, but. Some of the more common causes include snow or ice buildup and slippery surfaces from spilled liquids. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Moving on to less common causes of death, we see that the odds of dying from an accident involving a car, motorcycle, or bicycle are all relatively low, with odds of 1 in 554 for a car crash, 1 in 720 for a motorcycle accident, and 1 in 3362 for a bicycle accident. Forensic Sci Res. This may mean moving off the stairs if you arent on a flat surface. Photograph your injuries, if any. We hope this guide has helped to show you the most common injuries that can happen as a result of falling down stairs, what the legislation states, how to recover from a fall and most importantly, and how to prevent this type of injury from occurring. Once you fell down the stairs, due to the adrenaline rush, you may not be aware of soft tissue injuries. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children under four have suffered from head trauma more than older children due to stairs. What should I do after a fall down the stairs? How do I choose between my boyfriend and my best friend? Here is a list of what to do if you or others fall through the ice. When you happen to fall on the steps, move away carefully from the defective steps and detect the reason for your falling off the stairs. The odds of dying over a one-year period are based on the U.S. population as a whole, not on participants in any particular activity or on how dangerous that activity may be. In 2019, there were 2,530 deaths with a one-year odds of dying of 1 in 129,739. The International Residential Code (IRC) is followed in building stairs for residential buildings in the U.S. Cerebral oedema (n = 56, 70.88%), followed by subdural haematoma (n = 34, 43.03%) were the two most common intra-cranial injuries. Many falls do not cause injuries. Vending Machines kill more people per year than sharks While the thought of a Coke machine probably doesnt fill anyone normal with the same sense of dread as a Great White, vending machines are responsible for an average of 13 deaths a year. Papadopoulos IN, Bonovas S, Kanakaris NK, Nikolopoulos G, Kotsilianou O, Konstantoudakis G, Leukidis C. Injury. Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. What happens if you fall down the stairs? The IBC dictates a 4 to 7 inches height for the riser and an 11 inches depth for the run. Staircases are standard in most houses and buildings and most people dont pay a lot of attention to them. 1993 Sep;14(3):201-7. Stairs are the place where most deaths and serious injuries happen in the home. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.