Falls Worldwide: The Second Leading Cause of Injury Death

The global scale of falls

The World Health Organization estimates 684,000 fatal falls worldwide each year, making falls the second leading cause of death from unintentional injury after road traffic crashes. Beyond the deaths, about 37.3 million falls a year are serious enough to require medical care (WHO, 2021). Adults over 60 account for the greatest number of fatal falls, and the burden is rising as populations age.

The United States mirrors the pattern: falls are the leading cause of injury death for adults 65 and older, with a rate of 69.9 per 100,000 in 2023 (CDC/NCHS Data Brief 532). Living alone in later life is also rising internationally — for example, 42% of Canadians aged 85 and older lived alone in 2021 (Statistics Canada) — which widens the population exposed to falling with no one present.

The response gap crosses borders

Wherever a fall happens, the danger for someone living alone is the same: how long before anyone knows. Most falls happen when no one is present — 82% of falls in adults 90+ occurred when the person was alone (Fleming & Brayne, BMJ 2008, UK cohort) — and outcomes track discovery time. About half of older home-fallers who had a long lie died within six months (Wild et al., BMJ 1981), and mortality among people found helpless at home was 12% within an hour versus 67% after more than 72 hours (Gurley et al., NEJM 1996, US cohort).

These studies span the UK and US and point the same way: the fall is survivable far more often than the wait. As living alone rises across high-income countries, the response gap becomes a shared, cross-border problem.

A phone-based net works anywhere your phone does

Because it runs on the phone you already carry, a phone-based safety net isn't tied to a country's medical-alert infrastructure or a landline — it works wherever there is mobile signal.

Phone fall detection is coming to the I'm Alive app in our next update (v2.3.0). When it arrives, it will detect a hard fall, check on you first with a full-screen "Are you okay?" and a countdown, and — only if you don't respond — alert the trusted contacts you chose, with your location. It never calls 911 and is not wired to a monitoring call center; help comes from your own people. It runs on your phone (no pendant or smartwatch to wear), it is opt-in and off by default, and it is best-effort, not a medical device. It is included from the Protect Me plan ($29.99/year), with location on the move on Protect Me On The Move ($39.99/year); the daily check-in is always free (Try It, $0), and there is a one-time Stay Connected lifetime upgrade at $4.99.

Keep the phone on or near you, choose contacts who can respond, and add the free daily check-in. The global numbers describe the scale; the individual protection is the same everywhere — make sure a fall is found fast.