New National Safety Council Data – Sobering Stats

The National Safety Council released the 2014 edition of Injury Facts, a report which for the last 90 years has given Americans and the world a reasonable snapshot of how we are most likely to be injured or killed as a result of injury. This is not recommended bedtime reading by the way.

You would be correct in guessing that most of it is not good news. As a law firm which routinely helps folks injured in all sorts of accidents, we are most struck by the following revelations:

• Cell phone use is now estimated to be involved in 26 percent of all motor vehicle crashes – up from the previous year
• The three-day period around New Year’s Day was the holiday period with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired driving deaths
• Motor vehicle deaths in 2012 were at their lowest level in February and at their highest in July
• The most costly lost-time workers’ compensation claims are those involving injuries to the head or central nervous system
• Unintentional injuries cost more than $790 billion annually
• In 2012, the number of teen motor vehicle occupant deaths decreased, but motor vehicle crashes remain the No. 1 cause of death for teens
• An estimated 5 percent of cell phone-related crashes involve texting, while 21 percent involve drivers talking on handheld or hands-free cell phones

Be safe out there!