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National and State Injury Facts

Injuries are caused by acute exposure to physical agents, such as mechanical force or energy, heat, electricity, chemicals, and ionizing radiation, in amounts or at rates that cause bodily harm. Injury may either be unintentional or intentional (violence-related, including assault, homicide and suicide) and can lead to death, disability, and lifelong health consequences. While death is the most severe outcome of injury, the injury pyramid provides a visualization of the reality that injury-related deaths represent a small percentage of the injury spectrum.   

Calendar of Injury Prevention Observances and Events

2020 Calendar

Indiana Injury Facts

Injury Mortality:

  • Injury is the leading cause of death for Hoosiers ages 1 through 44 years, and the fourth leading cause of death overall.

  • In 2018, there were 5,486 injury deaths at an age-adjusted rate of 80.9 per 100,000.

  • Of the 5,486 injury deaths, 3,792 were unintentional in nature, occurring at an age-adjusted mortality rate of 55.4 per 100,000.

  • The leading causes of unintentional injury death in Indiana in 2018 were unintentional poisonings (1,551 deaths), unintentional motor vehicle collisions (834 deaths), and unintentional falls (557 deaths).

    • Unintentional suffocation was the leading cause of injury death among infants (<1 year of age)

    • Unintentional poisoning was the leading cause of injury death among adults ages 25-64 years.

    • Unintentional falls was the leading cause of injury death among adults age 65+

  • Of the 5,486 injury deaths, 1,078 Hoosiers died by suicide and 503 died from homicide.

    • The Indiana Violent Death Reporting System will collect violent death information of deaths occurring in Indiana beginning January 1, 2015. For more information, visit: http://www.in.gov/isdh/26539.htm

  • From 2013-2017, 964 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Indiana (Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS])

  • From 2013-2017, there were a total of 4,089 traffic fatalities in Indiana (FARS)

  • In 2018, drugs and medications –prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and over-the-counter medications- were the underlying cause of death for 1,626 or 91.3% of all poisoning deaths.

  • In 2018, more than 33,000 people suffered a traumatic brain injury, which resulted in 1,313 deaths. The highest number of TBI-related deaths were among those 65+.

Injury Morbidity:

  • More than 45,000 Hoosiers are hospitalized and more than 500,000 visit emergency departments for injuries each year.

United States Injury Facts

Injury Mortality:

  • Injury is the leading cause of death for people ages 1–44 years in the United States

  • Nearly 241,000 people died from injuries in 2014—1 person every 2 minutes

  • In 2018, more Americans died from unintentional poisoning than unintentional motor vehicle collisions (62,399 compared to 37,991 deaths).   

Injury Morbidity:

  • More than 2.9 million people are hospitalized with injury each year.

  • More than 28 million people are treated in U.S. Emergency Departments for injury each year.

  • In 2018, unintentional motor vehicle collisions contributed to more than 3.4 million emergency department visits and over 350,000 hospitalizations

*Sources: National Center for Health Statistics, WISQARS, Indiana State Health Department (ISDH) Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

The ISDH Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention will disseminate descriptive statistical information to those entities throughout the state having an interest in preventive control strategies. The program's goal is to develop a functional surveillance system for all injuries and establish a core injury team for the state.

Contact Information:
Veronica Daye
Injury Prevention Epidemiologist, Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention
VDaye@isdh.IN.gov
317-234-4943

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Page last updated 7/13/2020