Why? Even if they attempt to break the fall with their arms, seniors still hit their heads, this video study found. In fact, over 60 percent of hospital admissions for TBI are for seniors over the age of 65. That percentage increases for those over 80 years old.

For their 39-month, in-depth look at one particular nursing home, researchers set up cameras in common areas, such as lounges and hallways. They set out to determine how residents fell and which body part took the brunt of the impact. Cameras recorded 227 falls among an average of 133 residents.

In 37 percent of those falls, seniors hit their heads, often on the ground. Extending their arms did not help minimize the impact, since their arm muscles were too weak to offer any kind of support. Many residents also made contact with furniture on the way down or hit the wall. Thirty-three percent who hit their head sustained a range of injuries, including abrasions, bruises, cuts and fractures.

Researchers study mobility biomechanics with the hope that, with enough information, nursing homes can improve the way seniors navigate their environment by changing the layout of a room or by instituting exercise programs that improve seniors’ stability and balance.

So, you may wonder, can nursing homes and hospices be held liable for negligence in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit if they fail to provide a safer environment for residents? After all, the Centers for Disease Control has reported that falls account for approximately 95 percent of serious hip fractures. Learntofall.com has reported that “falls are the leading cause of death due to injury among the elderly,” and American Family Physician has reported that “falls account for 70 percent of accidental deaths in persons 75 years of age and older.”

“These studies and statistics highlight the need for nursing homes to take better precautions and be more vigilant,” says Christopher Mellino, a nursing home negligence attorney in Cleveland. “Making the decision to move a loved one into a home is heartwrenching enough. Filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit on that person’s behalf should never have to happen.”

“Not only that,” says Christopher Mellino, “they were completely caught off-guard when [the patient] went into anaphylactic shock. The anesthesia doctor wasn’t even in the room when she stopped breathing.”

According to the complaint filed in the court of Common Pleas in Cuyahoga County, the mother of two “has experienced permanent and substantial physical and emotional pain and suffering, disability, was in a coma for several weeks, and has and will undergo extensive medical care and treatment.”

The jury found that the defendant was negligent and returned a $3 million verdict.

The University of Utah National Center for Veterans’ Studies undertook the research because few others had investigated the link between traumatic brain injury and suicide, traumatic brain injury is one of the most common injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan, and “[s]uicide is currently the second leading cause of death among military members,” the magazine reported.

In fact, 303 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in 2011 and another 349 killed themselves in 2012. This prompted 53 Congress members to pen a March 4, 2013, letter to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, stating, in part, that the number of suicides has reached “unacceptably high levels.”

Though everyone has his or her own reason for contemplating suicide, as Frontline stated, and the study’s lead author, Craig J. Bryan, cautioned that his narrow research can’t prove that someone who suffers a concussion will contemplate suicide, a person who suffers repeated concussions does become “more sensitized,” and “it becomes easier for that individual to experience depression and suicidal (thoughts) as a result.”

Still, the assistant professor of psychology’s study revealed:

• 18 participants had never been diagnosed with a concussion, and none of those participants reported contemplating suicide;
• 58 participants had been diagnosed with one concussion, and seven percent of those participants reported contemplating suicide;
• 85 participants had been diagnosed with several concussions, and 22 percent of those participants reported contemplating suicide.

Further, “[s]ome service members sustained as many as 15 traumatic brain injuries while deployed,” and “[a]n estimated 20 percent of service members sustained concussions during basic training,” per Frontline. Others suffered head injuries playing sports before enlisting.

Interestingly, “mild head injuries tend to be more likely to lead to suicidal thoughts than more severe ones,” Bryan said. “Resiliency is the rule. I want those who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, no matter how many, to realize that things are going to be OK, and that there’s hope, and there’s services available, and that the treatment works.”

Below, Cleveland, Ohio, medical malpractice attorney Christopher Mellino discusses common causes of brain injuries and how the severity of a brain injury is measured.

Common causes of brain injury:

Can the severity of a brain injury be measured?