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The lifetime cost of an injury
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), “The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the
United States,” estimates that the lifetime cost of injuries in a single year in
the United States, including occupational injuries, totals roughly $406 billion.
This figure includes medical expenses, productivity losses, lost wages, benefits
and other factors. Based on figures from the year 2000 (in which roughly 50
million injuries, fatal and nonfatal, required medical treatment), this sum
includes $326 billion in estimated lifetime productivity losses and another $80
billion for direct medical expenses.
Key findings of the report include:
► Males account for nearly 70 percent ($283
billion) of the total costs of injuries, due mainly to higher fatality rates and
the corresponding lost wages over time.
► An injured worker misses an average of 11 days of
work.
► Motor vehicle accidents account for 22 percent
($89 billion) of the total costs of injuries.
► Falls account for 20 percent ($81 billion).
► Upper extremity and lower extremity injuries each
account for 17 percent ($68 billion).
► People aged 25 to 44 years represent 30 percent
of the U.S. population and 40 percent ($164 billion) of the total costs of
injuries each year in the United States.
The book is priced at $45 and is available from the
Oxford University Press, Web site:
www.us.oup.com.
This article appeared in the June/July 2006 issue of MRO Today
magazine. Copyright 2006.
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