Senior woman suffers broken hip after robbery
January 24, 2012
An 83-year-old Perth, Australia, woman was recently attacked while walking in a parking lot near her home, The Courier reports.
According to the news outlet, the elderly woman had been walking in the parking lot at 6:35 p.m. last Thursday when a man approached her. The criminal then knocked her to the ground while trying to steal her purse.
The robber then fled the scene and the senior woman was left on the ground, unable to get up. The newspaper reports that she was taken to a local hospital where doctors found she had a broken hip, but was in stable condition after the attack.
Police are currently searching for the criminal.
Although most seniors won’t be a victim of a robbery, one in three elders in America are projected to fall each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 20 and 30 percent of seniors who fall also suffer moderate to severe injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to hip fractures and head trauma. Elders living alone may be at an even higher risk and might want to install a senior alert system as an extra precaution. These wearable devices allow an older person to call for help should they suffer a fall, a robbery or another emergency.
