Consumer products are everywhere you look in New York, and although these items fill your day, you may not stop to consider whether using them represents a particular hazard to you. While many of these provide warnings stating that you should not allow children below certain ages to interact with a product, they rarely list the dangers the items may present to older adults. At the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny, we are aware of hundreds of product-related injuries that kill adults in the United States every year.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, seniors may be particularly at risk for product-associated fatal accidents involving falls. In 2015, that agency released a report that included data on senior injuries and fatalities based on the three-year period between 2009 and 2011. During this time, researchers discovered that seniors whose deaths were associated with consumer products were most likely to die from a fall injury. As you age, your bones become more brittle and more susceptible to fractures and breaks. This may be why statistics indicated that seniors between the ages of 84 and 89 had a higher chance of dying from falls.

Non-fall accidents caused 27 percent of the injury deaths, and those between 65 and 69 years old experienced these at a higher rate. This group was also more likely to have these accidents than adults who were 55 to 64 years of age. The report notes that these facts may be useful in preventing higher numbers of accidents as the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age. For more information on this topic, please visit our Web page on accidental injuries and fatalities.