When you think about someone dying in a car accident, you initially imagine the pain and suffering you’d go through. Then, you begin to think about the financial impact that it would have on your family. The financial impact of a wrongful death doesn’t stop there, though.
In fact, wrongful deaths cost money due to hospital expenses, road clean-up from the collision and other factors. Traffic accidents, on the whole, are responsible for up to $1 trillion in expenses each year. These expenses are doled out to the victims along with others in the United States.
According to 2014 statistics from the United States Department of Transportation, motor vehicle accidents cost an estimated $277 billion, a cost distributed to people across the country. Additionally, another $594 billion is the cost for the pain and lower quality of life caused by injuries.
When you look at the numbers, $277 billion is the amount attributed to direct losses. The loss in productivity adds up to another $93 billion. Medical expenses cost as much as $35 billion annually. Even traffic-related congestion adds up to another $28 billion in expenses.
Many motor vehicle accidents are caused by distractions. By limiting distractions, the overall economic cost could be reduced. Similarly, drunk driving and speeding play a role in fatal and serious accidents. These, too, could be eliminated if people drove safely and considered their actions.
Your attorney can talk to you about your options if you’ve been hurt in a crash or lost a loved one. Crashes don’t have to happen, so those who are irresponsible do need to be held accountable.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Economic impact of traffic accidents? About $1 trillion a year,” Charles Fleming, accessed March 16, 2018
