Study Says Falls are Overtaking Car Accidents and Firearms as the Leading Cause of Fatal Traumatic Injuries: New York Personal Injury Lawyer Kenneth A. Wilhelm Comments

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Since 2002, deaths due to car accidents have fallen by 27 percent primarily because of improvements in car safety, public awareness and medical care

New York, N.Y (PRWEB) January 20, 2014

Trauma centers in the United States are experiencing a major change in the most common causes of trauma-related fatalities. According to a report in the December 2013 issue of Anesthesiology News, if the trends continue, falls would soon account for more deaths than motor vehicle collisions or firearms. The report shows that since 2002, deaths due to car accidents have fallen by 27 percent primarily because of improvements in car safety, public awareness and medical care. However, this drop has been offset by a marked increase in fall-related deaths, which have grown by 46 percent over an eight-year period, the report states.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year, one in every three adults age 65 or older suffers a fall. The agency has documented serious and debilitating fall-related injuries among the elderly including hip fractures and head trauma, which can increase the risk of early death. The CDC states that among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries. In 2010, 2.3 million non-fatal fall injuries among older adults were treated in emergency rooms and more than 662,000 of these patients were hospitalized.

"Whether in hospitals, nursing facilities or at home, falls involving the elderly can be easily prevented," said New York personal injury lawyer Kenneth A. Wilhelm. "These types of fall-related injuries can result in a significant decrease in the individual's quality of life."

Wilhelm says there are several steps senior citizens can take to prevent serious fall-related injuries:

•     Get an annual eye exam. Make sure you have the corrective lenses you need to maximize your vision.
•     Go over all your medications – including prescription and over-the-counter – with your doctor so that you understand their effect on you.
•     Make your surroundings fall-proof. You can do so by installing grab bars in the bathroom and railings along stairways.
•     Make sure that your environment is well lit.
•     Keep up on your physical exercises, especially ones that focus on leg strength and balance.

About the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm

The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm is a personal injury litigation firm with an unwavering dedication to its clients. With more than 42 years of experience, our firm strives to obtain the best compensation for those who have been injured or those who have lost a loved one due to an accident or by someone else's negligence. We handle cases dealing with personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, train accidents, workers' compensation, dental malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, rape, paralysis, comas, seizures, false arrest, lead poisoning, trips and slips and falls, falls on sidewalks or stairs, elevator accidents, construction accidents, Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy, brain damage, blindness, hearing loss, dog bite cases, fire and smoke inhalation accidents, bicycle accidents, falls from windows or scaffolds, food poisoning injuries, and many other types of accidents and injuries.

Please contact our New York personal injury attorneys TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys' fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.

Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:

1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES

The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm
445 Park Ave, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 545-7373

Please visit us at: http://www.WORK4YOULAW.com

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