A new report on accidental deaths among U.S. children received extensive coverage, mostly from online sources. Most sources portrayed the findings as a step in the right direction, but also emphasized the fact that deaths among this population due to some factors, like prescription drug abuse, are on the rise. USA Today reported, “The number of children and teens who die from any kind of accidents has dropped nearly 30% from 2000 to 2009, mostly because of a decline in traffic deaths, says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” However, the gains are “offset by the sobering news that more than 9,000 young people still die annually from motor-vehicle accidents, fires, poisoning, drowning, falls and other unintentional injuries.”
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports that “agency officials fear it may be difficult to lower the rate further, however, because of sharp increases in two areas: a 91% increase in poisoning deaths among teenagers during the period — primarily from prescription drug abuse — and a 54% increase in suffocation deaths among infants.” The report indicated that “for every accidental death, there were 25 hospitalizations and 925 visits to the emergency” department (ED). “Every 4 seconds, a child is treated for injury in an” ED.
From the American Association for Justice news release.
