Older adults who reside in senior living and skilled nursing communities fall more often than community-dwelling older adults; about half of all residents fall each year, and 10–25% of those falls result in fractures or concussions. Fall-related injuries come with significant medical costs; about $50 billion is spent each year on fall-related injuries and over $750 million is spent related to fatal falls. A recent survey of over 400 aging services executives and care providers found that, before any potential claims occur, falls cost each community an average of $380,000 annually. The average cost of a single resident fall is $4,743 in assisted living and $6,306 in skilled nursing, mostly driven by an increase in care level, additional administrative cost, and increased care staff cost.
According to the CNA Aging Services Claim Report: 11th Edition, resident falls continue to be the most common cause for claims at 40.4% among the top allegations in aging services. The report also finds the average amount paid for fall-related claims in 2021 to be $227,199, a 15% increase from 2018. Death is the most common outcome associated with fall-related claims at 59.4% of the claim distribution, followed by fractures at 30.7%.
