Common problems in the home that lead to injuries

Inadequate railings and banisters

Unsafe storage of medications

Water heaters set too high

Firearms improperly stored or locked up Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of injury, but since they don’t usually take place in the home, we’re not addressing them here.

Poisoning

In 2017, 64,795 people died of poisoning in the US.2 That may sound surprising, but in 2011, the National Safety Council reported that poisoning jumped up to become the leading cause of home and community death.3

What’s poisoning? Poisoning includes gas leaks and med mixups like overdoses, not just toxic chemical ingestion.

Falls in the home can be fatal

4 In 2017, 36,338 people in the US died from a fall. 5

20% of falls cause serious injury cases. 6

Falls are an especially common home injury threat for the elderly. Thirty million older adults fall each year. These falls cause around 30,000 deaths. 7

About 300,000 older adults are hospitalized each year for hip fractures. 8

Over 95% of hip fractures are caused by falls.9 Falling is the second leading cause of home death.

Other household risks

The next-highest home and community safety risk is airway obstruction (choking, suffocation, and strangulation).10 Water-related incidents, particularly drowning, come next.11 Drowning is followed by accidents involving fires and burns, which claimed more than 2,500 lives in 2015.12