How Much Fatal Car Accidents Cost Colorado Annually

We can’t put a value on human life, so the loss of one person is priceless, really! However, we can very quickly determine the immediate loss-of-life costs surrounding that car accident.

In 2010, car crashes cost nearly $1 trillion due to loss of revenue from work production and medical, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Surprisingly, nearly 10 million car accidents go unreported every year.

Car Accidents & Death in the United States

According to research and data collected on motor vehicle crash deaths by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC:

• More than 30,000 fatalities occur every year
• In 2013, $44 billion in lost wages and medical costs reported
• Car accidents are listed in the Top 10 causes of death for those 0-54 year old

Who Pays the Costs of Vehicle Related-Deaths?

• Insured drivers pay approximately 50%
• Crash victims 26%
• Other driver, charities, and Insured healthcare providers 14%
• Federal revenue 6%
• State and local governments 3%
• Other 1%

(Figures provided by the CDC’s motor vehicle safety data.)

For the most part, insured drivers who had nothing to do with car crashes pay about 75 percent of all costs associated with a car accident through their car insurance premiums.

In 2013, Colorado reported more than 500 fatalities as a result of car accidents. In 2015, the State of Colorado reported that the costs for medical bills and work loss topped out at $647 million.

Causes of Deadly Car Accidents

• Alcohol impairment accounted for more than 10,000 lives lost in both 2012 and 2013
• Slightly less, about 9,600 lives were lost in 2013 due to speeding
• Red light runners are responsible for nearly 1,000 lives lost a year and 2,000 left injured
• Fatigue accounts for nearly 21% of all car accident fatalities
• Text and distracted driving accounted for nearly 3,200 deaths in car accidents in 2013

(Data Sources: NHSTA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

How Can Colorado Prevent Deaths Due to Car Accidents?

• Enforce stricter seat belt laws and penalties
• Enforce safe child seat laws and policies up to age 8
• Continue the graduated driver’s license system for teenagers

(According to data from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Contact a Littleton Car Accident Lawyer at Littleton Lawyers™

If you have been injured in a car accident, it’s time to contact a trusted Littleton car accident lawyer at Littleton Lawyers™. Since 1983, our attorneys have been fighting on behalf of injured people and aggressively standing up against injustice, inequality and intolerance. Our lawyers know how serious and devastating the impacts of car accident can be, and we know that many injured people depend on settlements to get the medical treatments they need. That’s why we are committed to advocating injured people’s rights while working diligently to help them maximize their financial recoveries.

To get more information about your potential case and rights, call us at (303) 794-7422 or email us using the contact form on this page.

From our law offices in Littleton, we represent clients throughout Colorado, including in the Denver Metro Area, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Jefferson County and the cities of Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, Westminster, Centennial and Aurora.