The medical costs of bicycle accidents have been rising dramatically, according to a new study by the University of California, San Francisco, which was recently published in the journal Injury Prevention. Since 1997, medical costs for emergency room and hospital admissions have been on the rise.
Bicycle accidents have been rising tremendously. Over the course of 17 years, total medical costs, including both fatal and non-fatal bicycle injuries, amounted to $237 billion. In the year 2013 alone, costs amounted to more than $24.4 billion. The total costs of all occupational illnesses during the same year were less than half that amount.
Not only are costs not decreasing, they are steadily going up. Each year, costs rise an additional $789 million, on average. There was a total of 9,839 bicycle related deaths that were reported between 1997 and 2013, the length of the study. Other nonfatal bicycle-related injuries totaled 3.8 million.
Each year, bicycle-related injuries increased by around 6,500. Costs increased 137 percent for non-fatal injuries and 23 percent for fatal injuries each year.
Three-quarters of all bicycle injury costs were incurred by males, especially older men. In 1997, 26 percent of total costs were incurred by men 45 years or older (who are more likely to take the proper safety procedures), while in 2013, the number was 54 percent.
The health benefits of biking certainly outweigh its risks. However, it’s impossible to stress how important it is to follow safety procedures when going on a bike ride.
If you’ve been injured riding a bicycle, it’s important that you get legal help immediately so that you get the full compensation you deserve. Contact us today for help!