Slip and fall head injuries in older adults: key considerations for TBI litigation

Traumatic Brain InjuryGeriatric Litigation
Written By Brianna Rauchman

By: Steven Rauchman

An older brain comes to court with less reserve. After a slip and fall, neurologic damage is deeper and recovery slower than in younger clients. Balance problems and multiple medications add further risk. Understanding this chain is essential to proving causation, projecting costs, and securing full compensation.

Elderly man holds head after falling.png

Why age changes the odds

Falls are the leading cause of TBI in older adults, whereas younger adults more often sustain TBIs in automobile crashes. Older patients fall more often and suffer more severe TBIs because of:

  • declining vision, muscle strength, and reaction speed

  • home or facility hazards such as poor lighting or loose rugs

  • chronic medical conditions that undermine gait or sensation

An aging brain has less reserve and resilience

Brain tissue shrinks with age, reducing both structural and cognitive reserve. Equal impacts create unequal harm, so a blow that might spare a younger person can produce lasting damage in an older adult.

Balance loss fuels a cycle of repeat falls

Traumatic brain injury frequently impairs equilibrium. Balance deficits lead to more falls, resulting in:

  • additional head trauma

  • bone or hip fractures that require hospitalization

  • high morbidity and mortality

Common medications blur the clinical picture

Polypharmacy is widespread in older adults. Antidepressants, opioids, and benzodiazepines can mimic or magnify TBI symptoms. Essential practice steps:

  • obtain a complete medication list, including start dates and dose changes

  • distinguish pre-injury prescriptions from post-injury additions

  • apply the same scrutiny to younger clients whose pain medicines may interact with TBI effects

Recovery is often incomplete and costly

Older adults are less likely to fully recover after a head injury. Many lose the ability to live independently and must transition to assisted-living or long-term care. These outcomes should be fully documented to support:

  • future-care costs

  • loss of function claims

  • long-term disability damages

Turn medical insight into legal advantage

Accurate linkage of these medical facts to legal outcomes strengthens every phase of a case. Clear causation testimony, objective analysis of medication effects, and credible projections of functional loss give counsel the leverage needed for fair settlement or persuasive trial presentation.

Contact Dr. Rauchman

Brianna Rauchman
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