Injuries can certainly happen to anyone. They do not discriminate. People can be injured on the job, in car accidents, on someone else’s property and in many other ways. This happens to people from all different backgrounds and age groups.
That being said, studies have found that older patients are more likely to have serious injuries in such an event. Some studies have even claimed that this is a significant risk. That means that the same incident that leads to only minor issues for a young person could cause catastrophic issues for an elderly person, having a drastic impact on their life and their financial situation.
Why does this happen?
This happens for many different reasons. The older someone gets, the more frail their body tends to be. Healing becomes much harder and takes longer. This is why children will slip and fall all the time, simply jumping back up and continuing on with their day. At the same time, a slip and fall accident for an elderly person could be enough to put them in the hospital. These are a significant issue in nursing homes, where falls can even be fatal.
How is the impact different?
Age drastically impacts the ramifications of an injury. If an elderly person suffers from serious trauma that leaves them with mobility issues, cognitive problems, a long-term road to recovery and extensive medical bills, it makes their situation much more expensive. They need a type of medical care that simply wouldn’t be required for a younger person in the exact same situation. That’s why it’s important to keep age in mind when considering financial compensation. The compensation needed for an elderly person might be far higher than that needed for a younger individual, even when all other factors are the same.