Accidental deaths occur when someone dies due to an unintentional or unforeseen
event such as motor vehicle traffic accidents, falls, accidental poisoning, and drowning.
Bicycle accidents are one type of accident that can lead to unintentional death.
Accidental death is defined as a death that is the result of an accident or unintentional
injuries that are not due to natural causes.
Many accidental deaths are preventable, and some can be categorized as wrongful
deaths.
Most accidental deaths are preventable deaths and could have been avoided if different
circumstances had been in place. An example would be wearing a seatbelt to help
prevent death in a motor vehicle accident.
What are the 5 leading types of accidental death?
The most common causes of accidental death include motor vehicle accidents, falls,
drowning, poisoning, and fires/burns. There are laws and regulations to help prevent
many of these accidents, but unfortunately, they are still quite common.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show that more than
200,000 people face death due to unintentional injury. It is the leading cause of death
for people between the ages of 1 and 44.
The top three leading causes of accidental death in the nation are motor vehicle
crashes, poisoning, drowning, and falls, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, other accidental deaths include:
Unintentional poisoning: The leading cause of death for people ages 35 to 54, which
also covers accidental drug overdoses.
Opioid overdose: An estimated 79,117 Americans died from drug overdoses between
January and September 2022, fewer than the 81,155 people who died during the first
nine months of 2021, but still 50 percent higher than pre-2020 levels.
Drowning: It is a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and a leading cause of
death due to unintentional injury among adults ages 55 to 64.
Falls: A leading cause of injury-related death among adults aged 65. More than 25,000
people aged 65 and older die from falls.
Crashes: Driver fatalities also decreased by 12.4%, moving from 379 in 2022 to 332 in
2023, while pedestrian fatalities experienced an 8.4% reduction from 191 in 2022 to 175
in 2023. , according to the state Office of Highway Safety.
The National Safety Council offers safety suggestions to address the leading causes of
accidental death in the nation.
However, there also are several laws that give survivors the right to sue for damages
and pursue punitive damages after the death of a family member.
Wrongful death laws allow survivors to recover damages for their losses, including the
loss of financial support, and loss of companionship.
Cooper Levenson is a full-service law firm established in 1957. Kathleen F. Beers, Esq. handles personal injury law and can be reached at kbeers@cooperlevenson.com or (609) 572-7570.