What are Your Real Odds of Dying? Understanding the Risks of Personal Injury

What are Your Real Odds of Dying? Understanding the Risks of Personal Injury

Perhaps you’ve wondered just how high your odds of being seriously injured, or even killed, really are. The National Safety Council has put together some safety statistics, which include a table illustrating a person’s odds of dying from different causes and helps one understand the risks of personal injury.

Some of the more common accidents–with the odds that such an accident could kill you–are listed below:


  • The odds of dying from heart disease or cancer are 1 in 7;
  • The odds of dying from a motor vehicle accident are 1 in 112;
  • The odds of dying from a fall are 1 in 144;
  • The odds of a motorcycle rider dying in a crash are 1 in 911;
  • The odds of a pedestrian who is hit by an automobile dying is 1 in 704;
  • The odds of dying after being bitten by a dog is 1 in 116,448;
  • The odds of dying from being in a home or other building on fire is 1 in 1,442, and
  • The odds of dying due to being struck by a sharp object is 1 in 37,351.

The statistics are a bit eye-opening, showing that it just might be more common for people to die from a personal injury than we might imagine.

Keep in mind, however, that the odds given are statistical averages across the United States population, not taking into account the odds of death for a specific person. Those odds would vary greatly, depending on the person’s occupation, location of home, and personal lifestyle.

Does Your Occupation Contribute to Your Chances of Workplace Injury or Death?

Your occupation has considerable influence on your risk for a work-related accident. In fact, occupation is the factor which most significantly influences the risk of workplace injury. Some of the riskiest occupations include health care professionals, construction workers, the agricultural industry, and the food production industry. While there are statistically fewer accidents in construction work than among health care professionals, the construction injuries tend to be much more severe. In the United States, the construction industry has the highest rate of workplace traumatic brain injury.

Personal Injury or Wrongful Death? Is There a Difference Between New Jersey & Pennsylvania?

Many of the above areas are considered personal injury under the law. This means there was negligence on the part of another person or entity which was the direct cause of your injuries. Thus, if you were injured in an automobile accident in which the other person was at fault, were bitten by a dog who was not confined on his owner’s property, suffered a slip and fall in a public place, or were a pedestrian who was hit by a distracted driver, you could have a valid personal injury case. Medical malpractice is another area of personal injury; OBGYN’s are defendants in nearly 20 percent of all medical malpractice cases with general surgeons accounting for 17 percent and primary care physicians accounting for 16 percent.

All of these assume you were injured due to the negligence of another. If death occurred due to such negligence, then your loved ones may be able to file a wrongful death suit against the negligent party. Each state has wrongful death statutes which establish the procedures for bringing a wrongful death suit. Depending on which decedents file the wrongful death suit, they may be able to recover future lost wages, pain and suffering or other expenses incurred prior to their loved one’s death. If you have suffered a personal injury due to another’s negligence, or if a loved one was killed due to negligence, it is important that you speak to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible to avoid going over Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations.

Contact Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident because of the negligence of another person or entity, the experienced Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers at McLaughlin & Lauricella, P.C., can help. Our team of lawyers consists of some of the best attorneys in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and we will fight aggressively for you throughout the legal process.

The law firm has decades of experience representing injured accident victims and their families across Philadelphia, Berks, Bucks, Dauphin, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, and Northampton counties. We are also proud to serve injured accident victims throughout the State of New Jersey. Contact us today at 215-568-1510 or fill out our confidential contact form to learn more about your legal options.