New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

A group of Australian researchers has studied slip and fall accident risks among the elderly, and is advising that senior citizens must wear glasses with single focal lenses to minimize the risk of a fall.

Researchers studied a group of 606 senior citizens, who all wore multifocal glasses. They divided these people into two groups. The first group was handed over two pairs of single focal glasses, and was told to use these separately for close viewing and distance use. The other group continued using their multi-focal lenses. Both groups were asked to record the number of times they suffered a fall accident over 12 months.

At the end of the trial, the researchers found that the group that had been using the single focal lenses had a reduced risk of falling, compared to the group that used the multifocal lenses. Further, they found that when senior citizens used single focal lenses when they went outdoors, it reduced their risk of suffering a fall by 40%. The researchers have concluded that senior citizens, who are very active outdoors, might have their risks of falling reduced dramatically, if they use glasses with single focal lenses.

As a New Jersey slip and fall accident lawyer, I find these results very intriguing.  I would love for further research to be conducted into this field to evaluate the benefits of single focal lenses versus multifocal lenses in preventing falls.  A fall is one of the worst accidents that a senior citizen could suffer. Elderly persons are at a high risk of osteoporosis, which means that they suffer from weak and brittle bones that are likely to break during a fall. Because of their age, the elderly find that fractured bones heal slowly, or not at all.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Researchers have compiled data obtained from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and found that elderly citizens are at a high risk for elevator injuries.

Most elevator injuries occur when the person is getting into the elevator or walking out of it. Elderly persons are likely to slip and fall when they perform these activities, with possibly fatal consequences. Another common cause of injury is when an elderly person gets his hand or leg caught in the closing elevator doors.

According to researchers, just over 50% of elevator injuries that involve older people are slip and fall accidents. Bruises and sprains are the most common injuries, accounting for 40% of all injuries, followed by fractures and cuts. Hip fractures were seen in approximately 40% of hospital admissions involving elderly people in elevator accidents.

The researchers have advice for senior citizens.  

• ·         Take your time to get into the elevator.  Don’t rush to get in.
• ·         Get the edges of the elevator painted a different color from the rest of the walls.
• ·         Make sure that your hands and legs are away from the elevator doors.
• ·         Also, take special care with your walkers and canes. These are likely to get jammed or stuck between elevator doors, with possibly serious consequences for you.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey slip and fall accident lawyer, representing injured victims of slip and fall accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Renowned CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has been named in a lawsuit filed by a New York City interior designer. The lawsuit arises out of a slip and fall accident that the designer blames on Cooper.

The accident occurred last September at Cooper's new home. The anchor had recently purchased a house that earlier used to be a firehouse. On the day of the accident, the interior decorator Killian O’Brien was at the home when she fell through a gaping hole that earlier held the fire pole. Apparently, someone had removed the covers of the hole before O'Brien arrived on the premises. It was a 17-foot fall for O’Brien, and she was injured. Her lawyer claims the fall could have killed her. O'Brien has filed a lawsuit against Cooper.  

Cooper may find that leaving his premises dangerously unsafe for visitors or guests, can be quite expensive. A 17-foot fall could have left O’Brien seriously injured, or even dead. This woman is extremely fortunate that the slip and fall accident did not result in more serious injuries.

A slip and fall accident can leave a victim suffering from serious injuries. These include

• ·         Concussions
• ·         Contusions
• ·         Fractures
• ·         Spinal cord injuries
• ·         Head injuries
• ·         Brain injuries
• ·         Sprains
• ·         Strains

The victim may require weeks and months of hospitalization, surgeries and extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation. There may be extensive losses, including medical bills and days lost from work.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey slip and fall accident lawyer representing victims injured in slip and fall accidents in the state of New Jersey.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The results of a study released earlier this month, show that the number of fatalities from unintended injuries increased by 11 percent between 1999 and 2005. Most troubling of all has been the sharp increase in the number of people killed in accidental falls and poisonings.

Researchers at the John Hopkins School of Public Health say that there were approximately 20,000 more deaths from unintentional injury in 2005, compared to 1999. Approximately 89 percent of the increase in fatalities could be traced to two causes –

• Accidental poisonings in the age group of 15 to 64
• Fall accidents in those above 45 years of age

Poisoning death rates seem to have risen among all racial groups, but have doubled in Asian and Native American men. Among whites, the increase in poisoning deaths has been dramatic - there has been a 104 percent increase for men and a 172 percent increase for women. Most poisoning deaths, according to the researchers, can be traced to the abuse of prescription drugs. The spike in poisoning deaths has been easy to explain. During the study period, the use of opioid analgesic increased, enhancing the risk of addiction and abuse. 

In the case of deaths from fall accidents, the increase has been the most significant in whites above the age of 45. Drilling down further, the increase was much sharper for women than men. Rates for white women dying in fall accidents increased by 64 percent in the 45-64 age group, and 48 percent for women above 65 years of age. The researchers are at a loss to explain the increase in the number of fall accident deaths, and say further studies are necessary to identify the reason for this increase.

Scott Grossman is a Bergen County slip and fall accident attorney, representing victims of slip and fall accidents in Bergen County, and across the state of New Jersey. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link