Ubiquity of Trauma
Injury (trauma) is the leading cause of death for all age groups under the age of 44. It accounts for more lost years of life than atherosclerosis and cancer combined. In the United States, it is the leading cause of death in children.

Injury costs the United States between 100 and 200 billion dollars annually. It is one of the most pressing public health problems in the United States today, yet the problem continues to go largely unrecognized.

Causes of Trauma
The reasons for this neglect are many. No one expects to be injured, much less die from injury. Death following injury commonly happens to young adults and children, and they never expect to die from any cause. Disability or death from injury is viewed as an act of God or an unpreventable accident. In fact this is clearly not true. Most "accidents" are preventable.

The word accident refers to an unexpected, unforeseen and unfortunate event. Using this term to describe an injury, implies that the event was not preventable, when in fact, most "accidents" are preventable, with only a small amount of planning.

Motor vehicle crashes and firearm injuries are the two most common causes of traumatic death. Alcohol and drug use are directly or indirectly responsible for 75-80% of these injuries.

Who Trauma Affects
Trauma is a major cause of death in young people (who cannot or do not speak well for themselves). The cost in human lives and economic terms is tremendous.

In 8 years of the Vietnam War, approximately 50,000 Americans were killed. Twice that number die each year from trauma right here in the United States.

Trauma is the fourth-leading cause of death among Americans of all ages.

Trauma kills more people between the ages of 1 and 44 than any other disease or illness.

Nearly 100,000 people of all ages in the U.S. die from trauma each year. That's more than AIDS, cancer, or heart disease.

The impact of trauma is greatest in children and young adults.

Trauma cost the American public $399 billion 1992, including lost wages and productivity, medical expenses, administrative costs, and employer expenses.

Traumatic injuries, including unintentional injuries and homicides, cause:
43% of all deaths from age 1 to 4
49% of all deaths in ages 5 to 14
64% of all deaths in ages 15 to 24

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S.

Drinking is a factor in 49% of all fatal motor vehicle incidents.

Falls are the second-leading cause of accidental deaths for persons age 45 to 75 and the number-one cause of unintentional death for persons 75 years of age and older.

A total of 13,300 deaths from falls were reported in 1994, excluding falls in or from transport vehicles.

Falls result in almost 800,000 hospital admissions nationwide.

11.5 million ER visits which do not require admission.

Drowning is the fourth most common cause of unintentional injury death for all ages, ranking first among persons ages 25 to 44 and second for ages 5 to 44.

Poisonings by solids and liquids caused 8,000 deaths in 1994; roughly half of them were ruled suicidal.

In 1994, nearly 4,200 deaths were caused by fires, burns, and fire-related injuries.

50,000 - 100,000 people are hospitalized each year because of a burn related injury
Scald burns occur most frequently in the young (< 5 yrs old) and the elderly
(> 65 yrs old)

In the mid-1990's the number of deaths from firearms exceeded the number of deaths from motor vehicle crashes for the first time ever in the ages 18 - 44.

Over 40,000 people die each year from gunshot wounds.