Cutting the costs of injuries.

• Author: Heller, Emily
• Position: TRENDS

From falls to fatalities, injuries and violence send 27 million people to emergency rooms, result in 3 million hospitalizations and cause 192,000 early deaths each year. Almost 60 percent of people who die before reaching 45 years of age have suffered an injury, either intentionally or accidentally.

According to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), accidents and violence cost the U.S. a total of $671 billion in both medical costs and estimated lost wages in 2013. The research sheds light on what are the costliest culprits. Targeting them may be the most efficient use of limited resources.

Injuries from car crashes accounted for 23 percent of fatal and 21 percent of nonfatal injury costs, making them a major public health problem for states. Policies that have been effective at preventing motor vehicle accident injuries include:

* Child passenger restraint laws.

* Primary enforcement seat belt laws, which permit police officers to pull over and ticket car drivers and passengers for not wearing a seat belt.

* Graduated driver licensing programs, which give new drivers privileges in stages.

* Sobriety checkpoints.

* Ignition interlock systems in cars owned by those convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Another big killer is drug poisoning, which doubled in frequency between 1999 and 2013. More than a quarter of all fatal injury costs were due to drug poisonings...