Unintentional Injury Statistics

The following are the latest statistics available from the National Safety Council, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC), and other sources:

• Unintentional injuries continue to be the fifth leading cause of death overall, exceeded only by heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Unintentional injuries rank third in importance behind cancer and heart disease.
• The most common causes of injuries seen in emergency departments are from traffic accidents, falls, and violence.
• The top five causes of fatal unintentional injuries include: motor vehicle crashes, falls, poisoning, drowning, and fires and burns.
• Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1 and 21.
• Economic impact of fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries amounted to 480.5 billion dollars in 1998. (This is equivalent to about 59 cents of every dollar spent on food in the US in 1998.)
• Approximately 333,687 dog bite injuries are treated in emergency rooms yearly.
• Each year, over 600,000 people are treated in emergency departments for bicycle-related injuries and 824 die from this type of injury.
• Strokes kill more than 159,000 Americans each year and are the leading cause of adult disability.
• More than 4,000 people drowned in 1997.
• More than 400,000 adults ages 65 and older were injured in falls in 1997.
• Falls are the leading cause of injury death in persons over the age of 65. One in every three adults in this age group falls each year.
• Childhood falls account for more than 2 million emergency visits each year.
• Approximately 18,000 people in the US suffer injuries in home fires every year.
• Roughly 3.5 million children ages 14 and under are treated for sports-related injuries each year.
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for children and young adults, ages 1 to 24.
• Every hour someone dies in the US because they did not wear a seat belt. It is estimated that seat belts save 9,500 lives each year in this country.
• More than 2,800 people are alive today because of air bags. Driver deaths are being reduced by about 14 percent because of air bags.
• Sleepy drivers contribute to about 100,000 motor vehicle crashed reported to police each year.
• More than 200,000 children are injured each year on playgrounds at child care centers, parks, and schools in the US. Falls onto playground surfaces are a contributing factor in 70 percent of injuries requiring hospital visits.