These Are The Everyday Phone Habits Putting Americans In The Hospital

Thousands of American seniors end up in the ER every year simply because they were looking at their phone while walking, according to an October 2026 report on preventable injuries. This newly released study by Calderon Law Firm analyzed federal hospital records to find which daily activities become too dangerous with a phone in hand.

The research examined close to 1.8 million federal hospital records to find which everyday activities cause the most phone-related injuries. The report identified cases where someone was actively using a phone at the moment of injury, then sorted them into 18 specific activities. It also looked at how serious each injury was, which body parts got hurt most, and which age groups showed up most often in the records. These figures were combined into national estimates, revealing which phone habits are putting Americans in the hospital.

Here’s a look at the top 10 activities where phone use sends the most Americans to the emergency room:

Activity	Setting	Estimated ER visits (U.S., 2021–2025)	Share of all phone-use injuries (2021–2025)	Most-injured body part	Most common injury	Who gets hurt most
Losing your balance while walking	On foot	7,760	18%	Head	Fracture	Seniors (65+)
Answering or picking up the phone while driving	Behind the wheel	4,850	11%	Head	Bruise or scrape	Adults (25-44)
Looking at the phone while driving	Behind the wheel	4,650	11%	Head	Bruise or scrape	Adults (25-44)
Falling down the stairs	On the stairs	4,000	9%	Ankle	Fracture	Middle-aged (45-64)
Walking into poles, walls & doors	On foot	3,145	7%	Head	Head injury (incl. concussion)	Adults (25-44)
Falling on curbs & uneven sidewalks	On foot	3,020	7%	Ankle	Fracture	Adults (25-44)
Riding a bike	On wheels	2,320	5%	Head	Bruise or scrape	Adults (25-44)
Riding e-bikes & scooters	On wheels	1,980	5%	Face	Fracture	Adults (25-44)
Missing a step on the stairs	On the stairs	1,950	5%	Ankle	Sprain or strain	Middle-aged (45-64)
Falling over rugs, cords & pets	On foot	1,840	4%	Face	Fracture	Seniors (65+)

You can access the complete research findings here.

1. Losing your balance while walking

Walking while on a phone is the single most dangerous phone habit in America. Over 7.7K people ended up in the ER over the past five years after losing their footing mid-call or while scrolling. Most of them were seniors, coming home with fractured hips or head injuries. Nearly 1 in 7 of those cases was also serious enough to require hospital admission, which for an older adult often means weeks of recovery.

2. Answering or picking up the phone while driving

Reaching for a phone while driving is something almost every driver has done, and it turns out to be more dangerous than texting at the wheel. Nearly 5K people ended up in the hospital over the five-year period after answering a call or grabbing a dropped phone while behind the wheel. Adults between 25 and 44 show up most in these records, which is also the same age group most likely to have young children in the back seat.

3. Looking at the phone while driving

Glancing at a screen while driving put close to 4.7K people in the ER over the study period. Like reaching for the phone, this habit is most common among adults in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s. The majority of these accidents also result in head injuries, usually from hitting an airbag after rear-ending another vehicle or striking a pole. Overall, looking at a device while driving accounts for 1 in 10 phone-related injuries recorded in the country.

4. Falling down the stairs

Over the past five years, more than 4K Americans ended up in the ER after falling on the stairs while on their phone, most of them in their 40s and 50s. Broken ankles are the most common injury, but the records include cases that are far worse. One mother fell down five outdoor stairs while arguing on a call, and she was carrying her 26-day-old baby at the time. Another case involved a 57-year-old woman who fell down while on the phone and went into cardiac arrest at the bottom.

5. Walking into poles, walls, and doors

Roughly 3.1K ER visits over the five years trace back to people walking straight into something solid while on the phone. Such injuries are more common among younger people, with adults between 25 and 44 making up the majority of cases. These accidents often result in head injuries, including concussions. The only good news is that none of the studied cases in this category actually required hospital admission.

José Calderón, Founder and Trial Attorney at Calderon Law Firm, commented on the study:

“Studies show that 43% of us have walked into something or someone while on the phone, so this kind of accident is far more common than people admit. Our phones are where our lives happen now, and that is not going to change. But there is something worth knowing from a legal standpoint: if you get hurt seriously in one of these situations, the phone in your hand does not automatically make it your fault. Maybe the stairs had no handrail. Maybe the lighting was bad. Phone use is one piece of a larger picture, and these cases are rarely as straightforward as they look. So anyone who gets seriously injured should at least understand their options before assuming they have none.”