Elderly Parent Fell? What to Do Next and What to Write Down

If your elderly parent fell, get them checked first. The CDC says an older person who falls and hits their head should see their doctor right away, and that head injuries are especially serious for people on blood thinners. Their doctor should hear about every fall, even one that didn't hurt. Then write down what happened while it's fresh, and turn your attention to the house, the medicine cabinet, their eyes and their shoes.

This guide is the part that comes after the scare: what to record, how to walk through the house, what Medicare does and doesn't pay for, and how to keep it all on one page.

First, the medical part

This article isn't medical advice, and whether a fall needs the ER is a call for their doctor or 911. A few things from official sources are worth having in your head anyway:

• The National Institute on Aging's advice for someone who has just fallen is to stay still for a few moments, decide whether they're hurt, and only then get up slowly: roll onto one side, rest, get onto hands and knees and crawl to a sturdy chair. If they're hurt or can't get up, they should ask someone for help or call 911 (NIA, falls and fractures).
• The CDC's facts about older adult falls says head injuries from falls can be very serious, especially for people taking certain medicines like blood thinners, and that an older person who falls and hits their head should see their doctor right away.
• An AARP article on head injuries quotes a neurosurgeon on watching for symptoms in the following days, such as worsening sleepiness, headache, new weakness on one side or vomiting. For people on blood thinners, it explains, bleeding inside the skull can take a while to cause symptoms.

If the fall ends in an ambulance ride, our list of what to bring to the ER covers the bag and the paperwork.

What to write down right after the fall

Memory gets fuzzy within a day, and your parent may downplay it ("I just slipped"). The doctor will ask questions nobody can answer a week later, so jot the answers on whatever is nearby: the back of an envelope, a note on your phone, a text to yourself.

New York City's health department suggests writing down the details as soon as you can, including how the person felt just before the fall, where they were, what they were doing, and any recent changes in health or stressful events (NYC Health, In Case of a Fall). Here's a fuller version you can copy:

Say the blood thinner part out loud, early, to anyone who treats them. AARP's article says anyone on blood thinners should be extra vigilant about getting medical attention after a fall or a bump to the head. The same article lists regular use of aspirin and other NSAIDs among the medicines that can raise the risk of a head injury by affecting balance, so mention those too.

Why the doctor needs to hear about it even if they're fine

Plenty of falls never get reported. The CDC's falls facts page (updated September 2026) says more than one in four people 65 and older fall each year, less than half tell their doctor, and falling once doubles the chance of falling again.

The NIA says to tell the doctor about any fall since the last checkup, even if it didn't hurt, because a fall can alert the doctor to a new medical problem or to issues with medicines or eyesight that can be corrected. The AARP article quotes a Weill Cornell neurologist who says that when someone has struck their head, she worries about the injury but is really concerned about why it happened. Tripping over a curb is one thing; blacking out and not remembering it is another.

So the call to the doctor's office isn't just "she fell." It's "she fell, here's what happened, and here's what she was doing." Your notes are what make that call useful.

A simple fall log your family can share

One fall is an event. Two or three are a pattern, and a pattern is something a doctor or therapist can work with. A fall log is just a running table kept where everyone can find it: a page in the kitchen drawer, a shared note, the inside cover of a folder.

Log near misses too. A stumble on the porch step or a grab at the towel bar counts.

The first row below is a made-up example to show the level of detail. Cross it out or leave it off when you copy the table.

Three habits make the log worth keeping:

1. Write the entry the same day, even if it's three words long.
2. Use the "Follow-up" column for what changed: a medicine adjusted, a rug removed, a cane ordered. Over time you'll see whether the fixes are working.
3. Bring the log to every appointment. Six lines in a table tell a doctor more than "she's been a little wobbly."

The home walkthrough, room by room

The CDC's two-page brochure Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults is a good free starting point. It goes room by room with a question and a fix for each hazard. The NIA's Preventing Falls at Home: Room by Room adds the outdoors and a few extras. Print the CDC one, walk the house with a pen, and use the list below as your summary.

Do the walk at night as well as in daylight. A hallway that looks fine at noon can be pitch black at 3 a.m., which is when your parent heads to the bathroom.

Stairs and steps

• Nothing stored on the stairs (shoes, mail, the laundry basket "for later").
• No broken or uneven steps, inside or out.
• A light and a switch at both the top and the bottom.
• Handrails on both sides, firmly attached, running the full length of the stairs.
• Carpet on the steps firmly attached, or replaced with non-slip rubber treads.

Floors and walkways

• A clear path through every room without stepping around furniture.
• Throw rugs removed, or held down with double-sided tape or a non-slip backing. The NIA's list simply says not to use throw rugs or small area rugs.
• Cords and wires coiled or taped along the wall, not across walkways.
• Low coffee tables out of the main path.
• Pets accounted for. The NIA suggests knowing where the cat or dog is whenever you're standing or walking.

Bedroom

• A lamp they can reach from bed.
• Night lights from the bed to the bathroom (some turn on by themselves after dark).
• A flashlight by the bed for power outages.
• A charged phone or landline near the bed.

Bathroom

• Non-slip mat or self-stick strips in the tub or shower.
• Grab bars next to and inside the tub, and next to the toilet.
• A light left on at night, or a night light.

Kitchen

• Things they use often on lower shelves, about waist high.
• If they must use a step stool, a sturdy one with a bar to hold. The CDC says never to use a chair as a step stool.

Outside

• Front steps solid and even, with non-slip material.
• Porch light on at night, and left on if they'll be coming home after dark.
• Walkways clear of branches and debris, and treated for ice in winter.
• A grab bar by the front door for balance while working the lock, one of the NIA's better ideas.

For each problem you find, write down what it is, who will fix it, and by when. A "loose handrail" with no name next to it tends to still be there at Thanksgiving.

Ask about a home safety visit from a therapist

You can spot the obvious hazards yourself. A trained eye catches the ones tied to how your parent actually moves: the toilet that's too low for their knees, the shower step they can't clear, the walker set at the wrong height.

The NIA's room-by-room page says that after a fall, a doctor might suggest an occupational therapist, physical therapist or nurse visit the home to assess its safety and suggest changes. If nobody brings it up, ask: "Would an OT or PT home visit make sense for her?"

Payment depends on the situation, so check with the doctor and the plan before assuming. Here's what Medicare.gov says about the two usual routes:

• Outpatient therapy. Medicare Part B helps pay for medically necessary outpatient occupational therapy when a doctor or other provider certifies the need. Your parent pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible, and there's no yearly cap on what Medicare pays for medically necessary outpatient therapy.
• Home health. If your parent is "homebound" and needs part-time or intermittent skilled care, Medicare's home health benefit can include physical and occupational therapy at home, and covered home health services cost your parent nothing. A doctor or other provider has to see them in person, confirm the need and order the care, and the agency must be Medicare-certified. The detail families miss: occupational therapy can't start home health on its own. It has to be ordered first along with nursing, physical therapy or speech therapy, and only after that can OT continue by itself.

If your parent has a Medicare Advantage plan, the plan's own rules apply, so call the number on their card. Our guide to Medicare documents for a parent covers which card to keep where.

Equipment: what Medicare pays for and what it doesn't

This is where families get surprised. Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment such as canes, walkers, wheelchairs and commode chairs when a doctor or other provider orders it for use at home, and only through a supplier enrolled in Medicare. Your parent generally pays 20% of the approved amount after the deductible, and some items are rented rather than bought.

Bathroom safety items are a different story. CMS's Durable Medical Equipment Reference List marks grab bars, bathtub seats, bathtub lifts and raised toilet seats as denied, calling them self-help, convenience or hygienic items that aren't primarily medical. Commodes get their own rule on that list: covered when the person is confined to bed or to their room, which can include being confined to a floor of the home with no bathroom on it.

So plan on paying for grab bars yourself unless you find help. The Administration for Community Living's Staying in Your Home page says some state and local programs offer low-interest loans or grants for home modifications, and that people 60 and older can ask their local Area Agency on Aging whether they qualify for home modification and repair funds under the Older Americans Act. Find that agency through the Eldercare Locator or at 1-800-677-1116.

Whatever gets ordered, write down:

• What was ordered and who ordered it
• The supplier's name and phone number
• Whether it's rented or bought, and when the rental ends
• Delivery date, and whether someone showed your parent how to use it

The medicine review

Medicines are one of the fall risks a doctor can actually change. The CDC lists medicines like tranquilizers, sedatives and antidepressants among the risk factors for falling, and adds that even some over-the-counter medicines can affect balance. Its pharmacy program, STEADI-Rx, notes that many older adults take medicines for sleep, anxiety, high blood pressure or chronic pain whose side effects can include drowsiness, loss of balance, vision changes and slower reactions.

You don't have to figure out which pill is the problem. That's the doctor's and pharmacist's job. Yours is to show up with the full picture:

1. Gather every bottle in the house, including over-the-counter sleep aids, allergy pills, pain relievers, vitamins and supplements. The CDC's brochure for family caregivers says to show the provider or pharmacist all of them.
2. Note any side effects your parent has mentioned, like feeling dizzy or sleepy.
3. Ask: "Could any of these be adding to her fall risk, and is there an alternative?"
4. Write down every change that comes out of the visit: what was stopped, what was started, what dose changed, and the date.

That last step is the one that gets skipped, and two weeks later nobody is sure whether the old sleeping pill is still in the pill organizer. If your parent doesn't have a current list yet, our guide to building a medication list for an elderly parent has the columns to use.

One more from the NIA: getting up too quickly can make blood pressure drop and leave someone wobbly, and it suggests having blood pressure checked lying down and standing. If your parent gets lightheaded when they stand, tell the doctor.

Eyes, feet and shoes

These are easy to put off because they don't feel urgent. The CDC's caregiver brochure recommends an eye exam at least once a year, replacing glasses as needed, and having a provider check the feet once a year. The NIA adds that new glasses or contacts take some getting used to, so give your parent time to adjust before assuming the new pair has fixed things.

Shoes deserve a closet check. The CDC's fact sheet Feet and Footwear for Older Adults says to avoid walking around in only socks, and to avoid shoes with heels over one inch, no back (like mules or clogs) or smooth soles. A safer shoe has laces or straps, a firm heel collar and a textured sole. The beloved backless slippers by the bed are usually the first thing to go.

A quick risk quiz to bring to the appointment

The CDC's Stay Independent brochure includes a 12-question "Check Your Risk for Falling" quiz, developed by the Greater Los Angeles VA and described as a validated self-assessment. Questions include whether they've fallen in the past year, whether they steady themselves on furniture when walking at home, whether they have to push with their hands to stand up from a chair, and whether they often rush to the toilet. A score of 4 or more means they may be at risk, and the brochure says to discuss it with the doctor.

Fill it in with your parent, not for them. Their answers may surprise you, in both directions.

If the fall led to a hospital stay

Some falls end in an admission, often for a fracture. Then the order of things changes. Our guide to the first 48 hours when a parent is hospitalized covers the early days, and the hospital discharge checklist covers home health, equipment and the Medicare notices before they come home. The walkthrough above still applies; it just needs to happen before discharge day.

What to keep for the family

A fall leaves a scatter of small facts: a new prescription, a therapist's name, a supplier's number, a follow-up appointment on a sticky note. Pull them onto one page and keep it with the rest of your parent's important papers.

That last row matters most when your parent lives alone. The NIA suggests keeping a charged phone on them at all times and arranging daily contact with a family member or friend, and NYC's health department suggests keeping phones low enough to reach from the floor. For check-ins, alert devices and who has a key, our guide to an emergency plan for a parent living alone picks up from here.

Share the page with siblings. Whoever lives closest usually does the fixing, but everyone who might take a call from an ER should be able to say "she's on a blood thinner" without guessing.

Frequently asked questions

Should my parent see a doctor after a fall if they seem fine?

Tell the doctor about every fall, even one without pain. The NIA says a fall can be a sign of a new medical problem or of issues with medicines or eyesight that can be corrected. If they hit their head, the CDC says to see their doctor right away.

How long after a fall can symptoms show up?

After a head bump, it can take days. AARP's article quotes a neurosurgeon advising people to watch over the following days for worsening fatigue or sleepiness, headache, new weakness on one side of the body, or vomiting, and to contact a doctor if those appear. Ask your parent's doctor what to watch for in their case.

Does Medicare pay for an occupational therapist after a fall?

Medicare Part B helps pay for medically necessary outpatient occupational therapy when a provider certifies the need, with 20% coinsurance after the deductible. If your parent is homebound, home health can include occupational therapy, but it has to be ordered first along with nursing, physical therapy or speech therapy.

Does Medicare pay for grab bars or a shower chair?

Generally no. CMS's equipment reference list denies grab bars, bathtub seats and raised toilet seats as not primarily medical. Ask your parent's Area Agency on Aging about home modification funds, and if they have a Medicare Advantage plan, ask the plan what it offers.

What should be in a fall log?

The date and time, where it happened, what they were doing, how they felt just before, their shoes and glasses, whether they hit their head, any injury, who was told, and what changed afterward. Include near misses.

When the next call comes

Everything here works with the CDC checklist, a pen and a free weekend. What tends to go missing is the record: the medicine change, the therapist's number, the supplier who still has the rental walker. If you'd rather have that organized for you, Emergency Binder Now asks you about 25 minutes of guided questions and builds a printable binder from your answers, including a one-page Emergency Information Sheet with your parent's medicines, conditions and doctors, and a gap list of what's still missing. See a sample binder and judge for yourself.

General information only, not medical, legal or financial advice. Questions about your parent's fall risk, injuries or medicines belong with their doctor or pharmacist, and questions about coverage with their Medicare plan.