Personal Injury Data & Research

What Are the Key Findings on Personal Injury in the USA?

This report brings together the most recent final federal injury data available in October 2026 and adds original calculations by FindTheLawyers. Seven findings stand out.

• Unintentional injury deaths fell sharply. NCHS recorded 197,449 unintentional injury deaths in 2024 (see the CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 548), down from 222,698 in 2023 (final data) [1]. FindTheLawyers calculates this as an 11.3% decline, and the reduction (25,249) is close in size to the 25,623-death fall in drug overdose deaths over the same period (NCHS Data Brief No. 549) [2], indicating that the drop was not driven mainly by accidents of the kind most personal injury claims involve.
• Traffic deaths declined but remain above 2019. NHTSA reports 39,254 traffic fatalities in 2024 (FARS Annual Report File; NHTSA DOT HS 813 791) and 2.42 million people injured [3]. That is 9.2% below the 2021 peak but 8.0% above 2019 (FindTheLawyers calculation).
• State risk depends on the denominator. Per-capita traffic death rates in 2024 ranged from 4.68 (Rhode Island) to 25.59 (Mississippi) per 100,000 residents, a 5.5-fold spread (FindTheLawyers calculation using NHTSA data) [3][4].
• Most people killed in large-truck crashes were not in the truck: 82.8% of the 5,340 deaths in 2024 [3].
• Workplace deaths: BLS counted 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024 (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries); transportation incidents were 38.2% [5].
• Filing deadlines vary from one to six years among the jurisdictions reviewed, and Florida and Louisiana both changed their general negligence deadlines in 2023–2024.
• No federal dataset counts personal injury lawsuits, claims, or settlements nationwide. Injury counts should never be presented as claim counts.

Which Personal Injury Statistics Matter Most?

What Does This Research Report Cover?

1. National Injury Statistics
2. Motor Vehicle Crash Research
3. Road User Categories
4. Workplace and Fall Injuries
5. State-by-State Comparisons
6. Personal Injury Laws
7. Original Findings
8. Five-Year Trends
9. Limitations
10. Methodology
11. Sources
12. FAQs and Citation

How Many Americans Die From Injuries Each Year?

The broadest measure of fatal injury in the United States comes from death certificates compiled by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). In 2024, unintentional injuries were the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer, accounting for 6.4% of all 3,072,666 U.S. deaths [1]. Underlying data are available from the CDC National Vital Statistics System.

Notes: "Unintentional injury" is the NCHS cause-of-death category commonly called "accidents"; it includes unintentional drug poisonings. Overdose deaths include all intents (unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined), so they partly overlap with unintentional injury deaths. Emergency department figures count visits, not unique patients.

How Many People Are Killed and Injured in U.S. Traffic Crashes?

NHTSA's two core systems answer different questions. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is a census of every fatal crash on public roads in which someone died within 30 days. The Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS) estimates nonfatal police-reported crashes and injuries from a national sample, so its figures carry sampling error [3]. Full details are in NHTSA's 2024 crash overview.

Source: NHTSA, Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2024, DOT HS 813 791 [3]. 2024 FARS figures are from the Annual Report File and may be revised slightly in the 2024 Final File. Significance notes are NHTSA's.

Crashes are not people. In 2024, 36,297 fatal crashes produced 39,254 deaths, an average of 1.08 deaths per fatal crash (FindTheLawyers calculation). Reporting "36,297 people killed" would undercount by nearly 3,000.

Associations, not causes. NHTSA classifies 29% of 2024 traffic deaths as speeding-related and 30% as alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities [3]. These categories overlap, and "speeding-related" means a driver was charged with a speeding offense or an officer noted speed as a factor. They describe recorded crash characteristics, not legally established causes, and they say nothing about which party would be liable in a civil claim.

A preliminary NHTSA projection estimates 36,640 traffic deaths in 2025, a 6.7% decline from 2024, at 1.10 deaths per 100 million VMT (NHTSA early estimate for 2025) [8]. This is a statistical estimate and is excluded from the trend calculations below.

Which Road Users Face the Most Serious Traffic Injuries?

Road user categories in NHTSA data are based on the person's role (occupant, motorcyclist, pedestrian, pedalcyclist). Large-truck crash figures, by contrast, count everyone killed in a crash that involved a large truck, so they overlap with the person-type categories and must not be added to them.

*FindTheLawyers calculation: (killed ÷ estimated injured) × 100. Injured counts are CRSS sample estimates of police-reported injuries and exclude unreported injuries.

Linear scale starting at zero. Units: deaths per 100 estimated injuries.

The person-type pattern is striking. Pedestrians and motorcyclists together made up 33.9% of 2024 traffic deaths (13,308 of 39,254) but only 6.5% of estimated injuries (FindTheLawyers calculation). NHTSA separately reports that the share of deaths occurring "outside the vehicle" reached 38% in 2024, its highest level since at least 1975 [3]. Pedestrian and motorcyclist injuries also rose in 2024 (+5.0% and a statistically significant +5.2%) even as deaths fell [3]. For legal researchers, these unprotected road users represent a disproportionate share of the most severe outcomes.

Large trucks. Of the 5,340 people killed in large-truck crashes in 2024, 920 were truck occupants, 3,753 were occupants of other vehicles, and 667 were nonoccupants such as pedestrians [3]. "Large truck" in NHTSA data means any truck over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, commercial or not. FMCSA publishes complementary commercial-vehicle data, but NHTSA's FARS-based figures are used here for consistency with the rest of the traffic analysis. The data identify involvement only, not fault.

How Common Are Workplace Injuries and Fall-Related Deaths?

The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) recorded 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, down 4.0% from 5,283 in 2023, at a rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers (BLS CFOI 2024 release) [5]. Transportation incidents remained the most frequent fatal event (1,937; 38.2%), including 1,146 roadway incidents. Fatal falls, slips, and trips totaled 844, and construction and extraction workers experienced 1,032 deaths, 370 of them from falls, slips, or trips [5]. BLS attributes much of the 2024 decline to fewer workplace overdose deaths (512 to 410) [5].

Nonfatal workplace data come from a different program. The BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) estimated 2.5 million employer-reported nonfatal injuries and illnesses in private industry in 2024, down 3.1%, at 2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers (BLS SOII 2023–2024 release) [6]. SOII excludes the self-employed and most public-sector workers in its private-industry total, includes illnesses, and relies on employer OSHA logs.

A truck driver killed on a highway can appear in CFOI (as a work death), in FARS (as a traffic death), and in NCHS data (as an unintentional injury death). Adding the systems together would count that person three times.

Falls outside work. CDC data show 41,400 fall deaths among adults 65 and older in 2023 and roughly 3.85 million fall-related emergency department visits in that age group, based on CDC WISQARS data [7]. NCHS reports the fall death rate for this group rose from 65.6 per 100,000 in 2020 to 69.9 in 2023 [7]. Most of these falls occur at home, and only a fraction involve property owned or controlled by someone else, which is why fall statistics cannot be used to estimate premises liability claims.

Traumatic brain injury. We did not identify a final national TBI death or hospitalization count for 2023 or 2024 that we could verify against a primary CDC publication during this review, so no TBI figure is reported. This is a documented gap rather than an omission.

How Do Injury and Accident Trends Vary Across U.S. States?

The primary state dataset is NHTSA's FARS traffic fatality count by state for 2023 (final) and 2024 (ARF) [3], paired with the July 2024 Census Bureau population estimates that NHTSA lists in its FARS Encyclopedia state tables [4]. FindTheLawyers calculated the per-capita rate and both rankings.

Raw totals mostly reflect population. Texas, California, and Florida recorded the most traffic deaths, yet California's per-capita rate (9.83) is below the national rate of 11.54. Population-adjusted rates are better for asking "how likely is a resident to die in traffic?" Rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are better for asking "how dangerous is each mile driven?", because rural states with long driving distances look higher per resident than per mile. NHTSA's 2024 national VMT rate was 1.19 [3]; state VMT rates are published by NHTSA and FHWA but were not recalculated here. Differences in crash reporting, roadway mix, and where non-residents drive also affect state figures. We therefore do not label any state "most dangerous."

Sources: fatalities from NHTSA DOT HS 813 791, Table 9 [3]; population from NHTSA FARS Encyclopedia state tables (U.S. Census Bureau estimates, thousands) [4]. *FindTheLawyers calculation; rank 1 = highest. Rates use rounded population figures and may differ in the second decimal from NHTSA-published rates. Small states can show large percentage swings from small count changes (e.g., Rhode Island −19 deaths = −26.8%).

How Do Personal Injury Laws Differ Across the United States?

Every state sets its own deadlines, fault rules, and procedures for injury claims. Rather than publish an unverified 50-state chart, FindTheLawyers reviewed a sample of jurisdictions against their official statutes. Each entry describes the general negligence or personal injury period only; exceptions for minors, discovery, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and government defendants frequently apply.

How Long Do Injured People Have to File a Lawsuit?

Statutory text should be confirmed before relying on any period; legislatures amend these provisions, as the Florida and Louisiana changes show.

How Do Shared Fault Rules Affect Injury Claims?

States allocate fault in three broad ways. Under pure comparative negligence, an injured person's recovery is reduced by their share of fault but not eliminated (for example, California, adopted judicially in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 1975, and New York, CPLR 1411). Under modified comparative negligence, recovery is barred once the claimant's fault reaches a threshold: either 50% (for example, Colorado, C.R.S. § 13-21-111) or more than 50% (for example, Texas, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001). Florida moved from pure to modified comparative negligence in 2023, barring most negligence claimants found more than 50% at fault (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6)). Under contributory negligence, any fault by the claimant can bar recovery; it survives in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, subject to doctrines such as last clear chance.

Why Do Claims Against the Government Require Special Procedures?

Claims against public bodies usually require advance written notice. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a claimant must present a written administrative claim to the federal agency within two years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)) and generally exhaust that process before suing (28 U.S.C. § 2675). California requires most personal injury claims against public entities to be presented within six months (Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2). Missing a notice deadline can end a claim even when the general limitation period has not run.

Why Do Malpractice, Wrongful Death, and Product Claims Follow Different Rules?

Medical malpractice, wrongful death, product liability, and claims involving minors often carry separate deadlines, notice requirements, expert-affidavit rules, or damages caps. A general limitation period is a starting point, never the full answer.

What Did the Original FindTheLawyers Analysis Find?

Each finding below was calculated by FindTheLawyers from the cited public figures. The underlying government statistics belong to and should be credited to the original publishers.

How Have U.S. Injury and Accident Numbers Changed Over Five Years?

Percentage change = ((final value − initial value) ÷ initial value) × 100. Each dataset is shown separately.

Comparability notes: 2020 was distorted by pandemic travel changes. Beginning with 2022, NHTSA classifies motorized-bicycle riders as pedalcyclists, and 2020-and-later vehicle-type data use VIN-based classification; neither change affects total fatality counts. The 2024 FARS count will be finalized with the 2025 Annual Report File. No causes are assigned to these changes.

The traffic series shows a pandemic-era surge, a 2021 peak, and three consecutive declines, yet 2024 remains near 2020 levels and above 2019. Workplace deaths followed a similar rise-and-decline shape. Neither series by itself explains why.

What Can Personal Injury Data Not Tell Us?

Injury occurrence, insurance claims, civil lawsuits, liability findings, and compensation outcomes are different measurements.

National injury datasets count events and outcomes. They generally do not establish:

• whether a particular defendant acted negligently;
• how many injuries resulted in insurance claims or civil lawsuits;
• how many claims resulted in compensation, or average settlement or verdict values nationwide;
• how many negligence lawsuits succeeded;
• whether a specific accident was preventable;
• whether any state offers the "strongest" legal protections;
• whether a trend was caused by a particular law or policy.

Most injuries never become claims; many claims settle without a lawsuit; most filed lawsuits resolve without a trial; and state court caseload statistics categorize tort filings inconsistently. Journalists and researchers who convert injury counts into "claims," or crash involvement into "fault," produce figures no dataset supports. Where a number about lawsuits or settlements is needed, it must come from court or insurance data with its own methodology, not from public health statistics.

How Was This Research Conducted?

Where Did the Data Come From?

Figures were taken from published federal reports and official statutes, reviewed on October 8, 2026: NCHS Data Briefs 548 and 549 (2024 final mortality), NHTSA DOT HS 813 791 (2024 crash overview), NHTSA FARS Encyclopedia state tables, BLS CFOI and SOII 2024 releases, CDC WISQARS-derived fall data, and state and federal statutory codes.

Which Figures Were Included and Why?

We used the most recent final or annual-report data for each system and reported preliminary projections (2025 traffic) separately. Figures that could not be confirmed in a primary publication (such as national TBI counts) were excluded.

How Are the Key Terms Defined?

Fatality: a person who died within 30 days of a traffic crash (FARS). Fatal crash: a crash with at least one such death. Injured: an estimated person injured in a police-reported crash (CRSS). Unintentional injury death: ICD-10 V01–X59, Y85–Y86. Emergency department visits count visits, not individuals.

How Were the Calculations Performed?

Calculations: percentage change; shares of totals; deaths per 100 injured; and per-capita rates. Values are rounded to one or two decimals after calculation. No data were imputed.

How Were State Rates Calculated?

Rate = 2024 FARS fatalities ÷ 2024 resident population (thousands, as listed by NHTSA) × 100. Geographic scope: 50 states and D.C.; Puerto Rico excluded, consistent with NHTSA's U.S. total.

What Are the Main Limitations?

Police-reported injuries undercount actual injuries; the 2024 FARS file may be revised; categories overlap; agencies define injuries differently; one-year state rates are volatile for small populations.

Can Other Researchers Reproduce These Results?

Every calculation can be repeated using the figures shown in Tables 1–9 and the sources listed below.

Which Sources Support This Research?

1. [1] CDC, National Center for Health Statistics — Xu JQ, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Arias E. Mortality in the United States, 2024. NCHS Data Brief No. 548, January 29, 2026. Data table for Figure 4. DOI 10.15620/cdc/174641. Accessed October 8, 2026.
2. [2] CDC, National Center for Health Statistics — Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2023–2024. NCHS Data Brief No. 549, January 29, 2026; and Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2003–2023, NCHS Data Brief No. 522, December 2024.
3. [3] NHTSA, National Center for Statistics and Analysis — Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2024. Traffic Safety Facts Research Note, Report No. DOT HS 813 791, April 2026. Tables 1–9. Sources: FARS 2023 Final File, 2024 Annual Report File; CRSS 2023–2024.
4. [4] NHTSA — FARS Encyclopedia, States: Pedestrians, 2024 ranking table (population in thousands, U.S. Census Bureau estimates). Accessed October 8, 2026.
5. [5] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2024. News release USDL-26-0230, February 19, 2026; Table 1, Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, 2020–24.
6. [6] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024. News release, January 22, 2026 (Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses).
7. [7] CDC — Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), fatal and nonfatal injury data for adults 65 and older, 2023; NCHS reporting on unintentional fall death rates among adults 65 and older, 2020–2023. Figures cross-checked against the National Safety Council's Injury Facts tabulation of NCHS data.
8. [8] NHTSA — Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate in 2025. Crash•Stats, Report No. DOT HS 813 800, April 2026 (statistical projection).
9. [9] NHTSA — Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2022, DOT HS 813 560, and related Traffic Safety Facts publications (FARS final counts for 2019–2022).
10. [10] Statutes: Ky. Rev. Stat. 413.140 and 304.39-230; Tenn. Code Ann. 28-3-104; La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 (2024 La. Acts No. 423); Fla. Stat. 95.11 and 768.81 (2023 Fla. Laws ch. 2023-15); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 335.1; Cal. Gov. Code 911.2; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003 and 33.001; 42 Pa.C.S. 5524; 735 ILCS 5/13-202; N.Y. CPLR 214 and 1411; N.C. Gen. Stat. 1-52; Minn. Stat. 541.05 and 541.07; N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-16; 14 M.R.S. 752; Colo. Rev. Stat. 13-21-111; 28 U.S.C. 2401(b) and 2675; Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal. 3d 804 (1975).

Which Findings Can Journalists and Researchers Cite?

1. U.S. traffic death rates varied 5.5-fold across states in 2024, from 4.68 per 100,000 residents in Rhode Island to 25.59 in Mississippi, according to a FindTheLawyers analysis of NHTSA FARS and Census population data.
2. Of the 5,340 people killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2024, 82.8% were not truck occupants, according to a FindTheLawyers analysis of NHTSA data.
3. In 2024, pedestrians died at a rate of 9.9 per 100 pedestrians injured in police-reported crashes, compared with 1.2 for passenger vehicle occupants (FindTheLawyers analysis of NHTSA FARS/CRSS data).
4. U.S. unintentional injury deaths fell 11.3%, from 222,698 in 2023 to 197,449 in 2024 (CDC/NCHS final data); FindTheLawyers found the decline was similar in size to the 25,623-death fall in drug overdose deaths.
5. Traffic fatalities in 2024 (39,254, NHTSA) were 9.2% below the 2021 peak but 8.0% above 2019 (FindTheLawyers calculation).
6. Among 13 jurisdictions reviewed by FindTheLawyers, general personal injury filing periods ranged from one to six years as of October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Research in the USA

How Should You Cite This FindTheLawyers Research Report?

Who Prepared This Research and How Was It Reviewed?

FindTheLawyers compiled this report from official public datasets and statutory sources. The research and drafting were carried out with AI-assisted tools; each figure was checked against the cited source publication, original calculations were performed on the published figures and recalculated, and statutory references were checked against official legislative sources or well-established statutory citations. No surveys, interviews, or independent data collection were conducted, and the report has not been peer-reviewed. FindTheLawyers intends to update the figures as new final data are released.

What Does the Research Show About Personal Injuries in America?

The most recent final federal data show improvement on several fronts: unintentional injury deaths, traffic deaths, and workplace deaths all declined in 2024. The details matter more than the headlines. Most of the drop in unintentional deaths reflects fewer overdoses; traffic deaths remain above pre-pandemic levels; and the burden of serious crashes falls disproportionately on pedestrians, motorcyclists, and people in vehicles struck by large trucks. State comparisons reverse once population is considered, and legal deadlines differ by as much as five years and continue to change. Above all, public injury data describe harm, not liability or compensation. Careful measurement, consistent definitions, and transparent calculation are what allow these numbers to inform safety policy and legal research without being misused.

Where Can You Find Personal Injury Legal Help?