Key Injury and Violence Data
Injuries and violence affect everyone, regardless of age, race, or economic status. In the first half of life, more Americans die from violence and injuries — such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, or homicides — than from any other cause, including cancer, HIV, or the flu. This makes injury the leading cause of death among persons 1-44.
Injury- and violence-related deaths are only part of the problem
Each year 214,000 people die from injury—1 person every 3 minutes.1 But these deaths are on the tip of the iceberg. Each year, millions of people are injured and survive. They are faced with life-long mental, physical, and financial problems.
- 2.8 million people were hospitalized due to injuries in 20152
- 27.6 million people were treated in an emergency department for injuries in 20152
Injury and violence also has an alarming economic toll. The total costs of injuries and violence in the United States was $671 billion in 2013. The costs associated with fatal injuries was $214 billion while nonfatal injuries accounted for over $457 billion.3
- Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the U.S. More than 35,000 people died from motor vehicle crashes in 2015 alone.1
- Opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999, with more than 15,000 people dying from prescription opioid overdoses in 2015.4
- Each year, 2.8 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries.2
- In 2012, approximately 329,290 children were treated in emergency departments for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or traumatic brain injury.5
- There were 683,000 victims of child abuse and neglect reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) in 2015.6
- On average, 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the United States. Over the course of a year, that equals more than 10 million women and men.7
- Nearly 1 in 5 women (18.3%) and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) have been raped in their lifetime.7
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Fatal Injury Data. (2017)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Nonfatal Injury Data. (2017)
- Florence C, Simon T, Haegerich T, et al. Estimated Lifetime Medical and Work Loss Costs of Fatal Injury, United States 2013. MMWR 2015;64(38).
Florence C, Haegerich T, Simon T, et al. Estimated Lifetime Medical and Work Loss Costs of Emergency Department Treated Nonfatal Injuries, United States 2013. MMWR 2015;64(38). - CDC. Wide-ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2016. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov.
- Coronado VG, Haileyesus T, Cheng TA, Bell JM, Haarbauer-Krupa J, Lionbarger MR, Flores-Herrera J, McGuire LC, Gilchrist J. Trends in sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries treated in US emergency departments: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) 2001-2012. J Head Trauma Rehabil 2015; 30(3): 185–197.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau (2015).
- Black MC, Basile KC, Breiding MJ, Smith SG, Walters ML, Merrick MT, Chen J, Stevens MR. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2011.