According to the Centers for Disease Control, injuries are among the leading causes of death in the United States. Mortality data from 2006 show that unintentional injuries, including those in Massachusetts,were the leading cause of death for those 1- 44 years of age, and the 5th leading cause of death for all ages. Injuries cause a relatively small number of deaths compared with the number of injuries seen in hospitals and emergency departments. In 2006, for each death by injury, there were nearly 11 times as many hospitalizations and 179 times as many emergency department visits. Determining how an injury occurs is the first step towards preventing future injuries. Motor vehicle traffic accidents were responsible for 24 percent of injury deaths, followed by poisoning (21 percent), and firearms (17 percent). Falls accounted for 25 percent of non-fatal injuries in 2006. The body region specified most often for injury deaths was the head and neck. Nine out of ten head and neck injuries were classified as traumatic brain injuries (TBI). In 2006, TBI resulted in 53,000 deaths, 210,000 hospitalizations, and 330,000 initial emergency department visits.
Data on the nature of injury provide important information on health care utilization and assist in targeting prevention strategies. Fracture accounted for 53 percent of hospitalized injuries. Among adults 65 years and older, hip fractures were mentioned in 38 percent of hospitalizations and in 15 percent of injury deaths. Home was the leading place of injury occurrence, accounting for 47 percent of the respondent-reported non-fatal, medically attended injury episodes. More than one-third of respondent-reported non-fatal, medically attended injury episodes occurred while a person was engaged in leisure activities including sports.
Bellotti Law Group can help you if you are injured in an accident.
