Unintentional Injury Statistics

The following are the latest US statistics available from the 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, suffocation, and fires and burns.
  
  
• Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children between the ages of one and 21.
  
  
• Approximately 4.7 million people each year are bitten by dogs, with 800,000 bites requiring medical attention.
  
  
• Each year, about 315,000 children ages 14 and under are treated for bicycle-related injuries.
  
  
• More than 4,000 people drown in one year.
  
  
• Falls are the leading cause of injury death in persons over the age of 65.
  
  
• Childhood falls account for one-third of all fall-related emergency visits each year.
  
  
• About 4,000 people die in home fires each 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 were not wearing a seat belt during an automobile accident.

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