Sometimes when a car accident occurs those involved survive the incident unscathed. Other times however, the injuries suffered will result in people having to go to the emergency room for treatment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently looked into who was most likely to end up in the ER after a car crash.
It looked at injuries that resulted from motor vehicle accidents in 2010 and 2011. During that time period there were close to 4 million visits to the ER. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the demographic most likely to end up in the ER following a crash was young people between the ages of 16 and 24. They went to hospital ERs at a rate of 286 per 10,000 people. Compared to the number of people over the age of 64 who went to ERs following car accidents—65 per 10,000 persons—that rate is quite high.
This information is probably not news to many—particularly those who have teenaged drivers. In general, young people in this demographic are more prone to be impulsive and participate in risky activities without completely thinking it through.
Under certain circumstances car accidents can result in personal injury lawsuits being filed. Lawsuits of this nature could make sense if someone is hurt in a crash in which the negligence of another played a role. This is true regardless of the age of the person injured or who caused the crash.
The results of this study underscore the importance of educating young drivers on how to engage in the activity safely. This could help reduce the number of injuries suffered and lawsuits filed.