Strom Law Firm Columbia SC
No obligations & no credit card required

New Study Says SC Ranks 13th in Nation For Injury Death

South Carolina Personal Injury Death Lawyers

A new study published by Trust for America’s Health says South Carolina is among the deadliest states in the nation for injury deaths.  The study, titled The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report,  includes all deaths from accidents and violence.

The report evaluated each state  and ranked them on a 10 point scale, with states receiving one point for each of 10 policies where they could improve safety.

California and New York each scored nine out of the possible 10 points, and had the best overall ratings, according to the authors of the study. South Carolina, on the other hand, scored only three out of 10 points.  Only Montana and Ohio scored worse.

South Carolina Personal Injury Deaths By the Numbers

The new study stated that South Carolina has approximately 72 injury related deaths for every 100,000 individuals.  That is 14 more than the national average of 58.

With the high number of injury  deaths, the state loses around $26.3 million every year in  medical costs.  About 50 million people in the I.S. are treated for injuries every year.  Right now, it is the third leading cause of death in the nation.

The report evaluated each state on 10 different policies which varied from seat belt laws to teen dating violence and prescription drug abuse.

Based on the ranking scale,  South Carolina uses only three of the ten policies. The policies that gained South Carolina points include seat belt laws, a prescription drug monitoring program, and a system that monitors how hospitals document and track the causes of injuries deaths they treat.

The report indicated that many injury prevention activities have been proven to reduce harm and  injury deaths.

 For example:

  • Seat belts saved an estimated 69,000 lives from 2006 to 2010
  • Motorcycle helmets saved an estimated 8,000 lives from 2005 to 2009
  • Child safety seats saved around 1,800 lives from 2005 to 2009
  • The number of children and teens killed in motor vehicle crashes dropped 41 percent from 2000 to 2009 and
  • School-based programs to prevent violence have cut violent behavior among high school students by 29 percent

The report on injury deaths was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and can be found on TFAH’s website at http://www.healthyamericans.org.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Categories
Archives

Follow us

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!