South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
In many ways, the true impact of Florida car accident losses is immeasurable. After all, how can one possibly quantify the death of a loved one? Or the crushing reality that permanent injuries have forever foreclosed on the possibility of doing things that once gave you so much joy? 
But when we do look strictly at those black-and-white numbers, the staggering ripple effect of Florida car accident losses is thrown into stark relief.
Almost 3,400 people die in Florida car accidents annually, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Another 250,000 are injured. If we’re solely focused on medical costs incurred as a direct result of Florida car accidents, it’s a $46 million price tag every year (per the CDC). Work loss costs? $4.35 billion.
Broadening that scope, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just released a new 300-page report that examined the full scope of costs for traffic crashes across the U.S. in a single year.
Among their findings:
- 36,500+ people died.
- 4.5 million+ people were injured.
- 23 million+ vehicles were damaged.
- $340 billion+ is the cost America as a whole pays for motor vehicle crashes. This includes medical bills and work loss, but also taxes, congestion-related costs, excess fuel consumption, insurance premiums, emergency services costs, legal and court costs, lost productivity. $55 billion of that is in medical bills and lost wages alone.
- That $340 billion breaks down to $1,035 for every person currently living in this country.
- $1.4 trillion+ is the cost America pays for motor vehicle crashes when quality of life valuations are considered.
Quality of life valuations are the consideration of the cost when a serious injury or death means that no amount of medical care is going to fully restore the victim. Those who have died – they’re robbed of the entire rest of their lives. Their surviving loved ones will be impacted the rest of their lives as well. Even for those who survive, sometimes there can be lifelong disabilities, physical pain, disfigurement that sometimes prevents them from being independent in even the most basic life functions. Continue reading
