Unintentional injuries can lead to Wrongful deaths. When a wrongful death occurs, it can leave devastating voids for individuals that have lost loved ones in an accident. Apart from the large tolls on a survivors emotional well-being, there can be wrongful death claims filed by surviving family members and loved ones to help recoup damages.

According to the CDC, the third leading cause of death for all age groups in the United States are accidents caused from unintentional injuries. These types of injuries trail only heart disease and cancer as higher causes of death in the United States.

For the age group from 1-44, the leading cause of death every year in the United States between 1981 and 2019 is unintentional injury. In 2019, unintentional injuries accounted for 63,000 deaths. While unintentional poisonings – including drug overdoses – are included in this count, there are other causes from accidents including those of physical injury that contribute to the accidental death total.

Certain activities involving accidental injuries result in higher wrongful death cases. Below are three of most common examples of accidental injuries that can lead to fatal accidents and wrongful death cases.

Unintentional Falls

Unintentional falls accounts for the highest mortality rate of individuals regardless of age group. Deaths caused by unintentional falls cause 12 deaths for a population of 100,000. Deaths caused by unintentional falls do not target all age demographics equally.

Unintentional falls disproportionately affect certain age demographics more than others. In 2019, unintentional falls contributed to 56.5% of all deaths relating to unintentional injuries that caused death for the age group between 65 – 85.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Motor Vehicle Accidents represent the largest cause of wrongful deaths in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 36,835 fatalities caused by traffic deaths in 2019.

Motor vehicle accidents are wide-ranging and include accidents involving passenger vehicles, trucks and motorcycle accidents. These types of accidents involving motor vehicles account for the third largest number of accidental and unintentional injuries in the United States. The total number of deaths is 11.5 per every 100,000 people.

Drowning

Drowning, like unintentional falls, does not target age groups equally. While unintentional falls are a leading cause of death for senior citizens, drowning is a leading cause of death attributed from accident injuries for children between the ages of 1 and 4 and the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 5 and 14 years of age.

How to Stay Safe from Accidental Injuries?

For senior citizens, the leading cause of unintentional injury are slips and falls. To help alleviate the potentiality of slips and falls ensure that you, or elderly loved ones, have proper shoes with adequate grip. If mobility is an issue, it may be in the best interests of a Senior Citizen to implement mobile devices like a wheelchair or walker.

Motor vehicle accidents, unlike slip and falls and drowning, does not discriminate against a given age group. Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of individuals from infants to senior citizens.

Drowning is a leading cause of death for children under the age of 15. To help minimize fatal drowning accidents, ensure that all members of your family know how to properly swim. If you or a loved one do not know how to swim, ensure that you have flotation devices, defibrillators and additional safety equipment while engaging in, or around, any body of water.

To help prevent unintentional injuries that contribute to fatal injuries, ensure that you take all of the necessary precautions available. If you are ever in an emergency situation call local first responders ASAP.