Accidental deaths reach an all-time high

By Erin Tucker

If you’re reading this post in August,  you’ve almost lived through  the most dangerous stretch of the year for fatal accidents. YAY!

Although July has the infamous distinction of holding title to both the holiday and holiday weekend resulting in the highest number of automotive fatalities and water-related deaths (click here to learn why that month is so deadly), it's only half the story.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), when all causes of accidental death are taken into consideration, more preventable, accidental deaths occur in July and August than any other two-month period of the year.

You might suppose that vehicular accidents are the leading cause of the dual-month spike. With school out for the summer, longer daylight hours and vacation travel, there are more cars on the road providing additional opportunities for incidents. But no. With drug overdosing included in the category, accidental poisoning is at the top of the list.

Here are the top five:

Poisoning including drug overdose — 38%
Motor-vehicle accidents — 24%
Falls — 21%
Choking and accidental suffocation — 3%
Drowning — 2.5%

FYI: Although the NSC has tracked preventable injury and death data for 99 years, it has for the first time made “hot car deaths” its own category in response to an unfortunate emerging trend.

The most alarming finding from NSC’s data analysis, though, is this: preventable deaths have now reached the highest number in US recorded history: 169,936 as of the end of 2017, the latest year statistics have been released. That works out to be 466 of us a day; roughly one American every three minutes!

That’s not even taking into account the thousands of people who were injured and survived, and as we know from our work here at Tucker Law, sustained injuries can change a life forever.

Once again, we urge you to be careful!!! And, as always, call if you need us.

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