Community Services

The Financial Costs, and Prevention Strategies of Unintentional Injuries

January 18, 2011 | Pamela Fuselli et al., Safe Kids Canada

It may be surprising to learn that the leading cause of death for young Canadians is not a disease but preventable injury. Injuries are the leading cause of death in Canada from ages one to 44. In 2007, the most recent year for which data are available, unintentional injuries alone were the fifth leading cause of death overall in the country, accounting for 4.2 percent of all deaths. In 2004, the annual burden of injury in Canada was revealed to be more than 13,000 lives lost, more than 200,000 overnight hospital stays, more than 3,000,000 emergency department visits, more than 60,000 permanent disabilities, more than 5,000 permanent total disabilities, and more than $19.8 billion in costs. This latter figure represents more than $10.7 billion in direct health care costs and more than $9.1 billion in indirect costs; productivity lost to our society due to premature death and disability.