The majority of injuries suffered by Canadians are, in theory, preventable. Car accidents, for example, rarely occur without some form of human error, such as driving while intoxicated, disobeying the rules of the road, or texting and driving. A cyclist, ATVer, or snowmobiler who suffers a brain injury while riding without a helmet has incurred a preventable injury. Most medical malpractice lawsuits derive from avoidable hospital or physician errors.
Just because an individual’s injuries could have been prevented, however, does not mean that they are not entitled to compensation. Preventable injuries account for a substantial portion of Neinstein Toronto Personal Injury Lawyers’ business, and as such we understand the enormous impact they have on society at large.
This impact can be measured in two distinct ways.
Pain and suffering
First, preventable injuries can cause acute physical and emotional suffering. The Ontario Injury Prevention Resource Centre and Parachute Canada, an injury prevention organization, released in 2015 a report entitled The Cost of Injury in Canada. This publication found that nearly 16,000 Canadians died from preventable injuries in 2010, roughly 43 deaths each day. Preventable injuries are considered the leading cause of deaths for Canadians under the age of 44.
“The stark reality is injury and trauma disproportionately affect the youngest, most vibrant populations in our society,” Dr. Bill Sevcik, emergency chief at the University of Alberta Hospital, told the CBC. “It’s the number one killer in the first four decades of life in Canada.”
Monetary impacts
Toronto personal injury lawyers are well-acquainted with the physical and emotional trauma that can accompany severe injuries, but there are other, broader implications to the number of preventable accidents that take place in Canada.
The report published by Parachute and the Ontario Injury Prevention Resource Centre attempts to quantify “the cost of injury to Canadian children, our families, our health care system, and to Canadian society.”
Besides the 15,866 deaths that occurred in 2010, more than 60,000 Canadians were disabled by preventable injuries, 231,600 Canadians were hospitalized, and 3.5-million made emergency room visits. Together, these events cost just under $16-billion in direct health care costs and almost $27-billion in total economic costs, according to the report.
In other words, preventable injuries place the Canadian healthcare system, rehabilitative services, and Toronto personal injury lawyers under significant stress.
Prevention
So, what measures are being taken to reduce preventable injuries? In Ontario, a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations have taken up the fight. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care have instituted an injury prevention strategy, and Public Health Ontario works to protect the health of all Ontarians. The Ministries of Transportation, Labour, and Education each focus on improving safety in their respective fields.
In spite of these efforts, though, injuries cost Ontario around $8.8-billion in 2010, a number which continues to grow each year.
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a preventable accident, contact Neinstein’s Toronto Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn how our team can help you access compensation for the damages you have incurred.