Falls are common health events that cause discomfort and disability for older adults and stress for caregivers. Using the case of an older man who has experienced multiple falls and a hip fracture, this article, which focuses on community-living older adults, addresses the consequences and etiology of falls, summarizes the evidence on predisposing factors and effective interventions and discusses how to translate this evidence into patient care. Previous falls, strength, gait, balance impairments and medications are the strongest risk factors for falling. Effective single interventions include exercise and physical therapy, cataract surgery, and medication reduction.