Accidental Death Rates Rise

June 2007

Every five minutes, accidents claim another life in America. Unintentional injury is the fifth leading cause of death in the US, and it’s the fastest growing category out of the top five. Ranking behind heart disease, cancer, stroke, and lower respiratory ailments, accidental death has risen over 20 percent in a 10-year period, topping out at 113,000 in 2005.

In the state of Pennsylvania, motor vehicle accidents are the top form of unintentional injury, followed by poisoning, falling, choking, and fire-related deaths. In all of America, the statistics remain similar; the only exception being drowning, which takes the place of fire-related fatalities.

Nationally, poisoning is the fastest rising cause of death, with overdoses being particularly dangerous. White males have seen 6,000 overdose fatalities in 10 years, while white women have seen their overdose death rate triple in the same amount of time.

Over half of all injury-related deaths occur in the home or neighborhood. At the current rate, accidental death will top its 1969 record of 116,385 within a few years.