Falls are the most common cause of injury in the United States by a wide margin. In 2023, falls sent an estimated 8.87 million people to emergency departments, more than three times the number caused by any other single mechanism. This holds true across nearly every age group, from infants learning to walk to older adults navigating daily life at home.
How Falls Compare to Other Injury Causes
CDC data from 2023 ranks the top five causes of nonfatal injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments:
- Falls: 8,870,302 visits
- Struck by or against an object: 2,909,953 visits
- Motor vehicle crashes: 2,315,991 visits
- Other specified causes: 1,855,457 visits
- Overexertion: 1,821,519 visits
Falls account for roughly half of the top five combined. Being struck by or against something, which includes collisions with objects, people, or sports equipment, comes in a distant second. Motor vehicle crashes, despite getting more public attention, rank third for nonfatal injuries. Overexertion, which covers strains from lifting, pushing, or pulling, rounds out the list and is particularly common in workplace settings.
When Injuries Turn Fatal
The picture shifts when you look at deaths instead of emergency visits. Unintentional injuries killed 222,698 Americans in 2023, making them the third leading cause of death overall. For people between ages 1 and 44, injuries and violence kill more people than any other cause, including cancer.
The leading killer within unintentional injuries is poisoning, primarily from drug overdoses. Poisoning caused 100,304 deaths in 2023, nearly half of all unintentional injury deaths. That number has climbed sharply over the past two decades, driven largely by opioids and synthetic drugs. Motor vehicle crashes, drowning, and falls follow as the next most common fatal injury mechanisms. So while falls cause far more injuries overall, poisoning and car crashes are more likely to be deadly.
Why Falls Dominate in Children
Children fall constantly, and the data reflects it. Among infants under one year old, falls account for 85.5% of all unintentional injuries. Toddlers between ages one and three aren’t far behind at 77.7%. At these ages, developing motor skills, climbing furniture, and an underdeveloped sense of danger create a perfect setup for tumbles. Foreign body injuries, where a child swallows or inhales something they shouldn’t, come in as a distant second for both groups, at around 7 to 10%.
For school-age children and teenagers, falls remain the top cause but share the stage with sports injuries and transportation-related incidents. As kids get more physically active and start riding bikes, playing organized sports, and eventually driving, their injury profile diversifies.
The Toll on Older Adults
Falls are especially dangerous after age 65. About 1 million older adults are hospitalized each year because of a fall, and the consequences tend to be severe. Hip fractures are the signature injury: 83% of hip fracture deaths and 88% of hip fracture emergency visits and hospitalizations are caused by falls. A hip fracture in an older adult often triggers a cascade of complications, from surgery and prolonged immobility to infections and loss of independence.
What makes falls so common in older adults is a combination of factors that compound with age. Muscle weakness, balance problems, vision changes, medication side effects, and home hazards like loose rugs or poor lighting all contribute. Many of these risk factors are modifiable, which is why fall prevention programs focus heavily on strength training, vision correction, medication review, and home modifications.
The Global Picture
Globally, the ranking shifts somewhat depending on the region. Road traffic injuries cause an estimated 1.35 million deaths per year worldwide and disproportionately affect people aged 5 to 29. In lower-income countries with less vehicle safety infrastructure and more pedestrian and motorcycle traffic, road crashes often outpace falls as a cause of both injury and death. In higher-income countries with aging populations and safer roads, falls tend to dominate the nonfatal injury statistics, as they do in the U.S.
The Cost of Injuries
The financial burden is staggering. In 2019, the total cost of injuries in the United States was $4.2 trillion. That figure includes healthcare spending, lost work productivity, and estimates for diminished quality of life and premature death. Falls, as the single largest contributor to nonfatal injuries, drive a significant share of that total, particularly through the high cost of hip fracture surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care for older adults.
What Actually Reduces Injury Rates
Because falls are so common and so preventable, even modest interventions can have a large impact. A randomized trial published by the American Academy of Pediatrics tested a structured injury prevention program for families with young children. Pediatricians provided anticipatory guidance at well-child visits, covering topics like safe sleep environments, stair gates, furniture anchoring, and supervision strategies. Families receiving the intervention had significantly fewer reported injuries at every follow-up point. By 24 months, children in the program were about 73% less likely to have a reported injury compared to those receiving standard care.
For older adults, the most effective fall prevention strategies combine several approaches: regular exercise that builds leg strength and improves balance (tai chi is one of the best-studied options), reviewing medications that cause dizziness or drowsiness, getting annual vision checks, and removing tripping hazards at home. Grab bars in bathrooms, better lighting on stairs, and non-slip mats are simple changes that meaningfully reduce risk. No single intervention eliminates falls entirely, but layering several together makes a measurable difference.