Odds Of Death In The United States By Selected Cause Of Injury, 2021 (1)

 

Cause of death Number of deaths, 2021 One-year odds Lifetime odds
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances (2) 102,001   3,254   43 
     Drug poisoning   98,268   3,377   44 
     Opioids (including both legal and illegal) 75,785   4,379   58 
All motor vehicle accidents 46,980 7,065 93
     Car occupants 7,576 43,809 576
     Pedestrians 8,984 36,943 485
     Motorcycle riders 5,836 56,870 747
Assault by firearm 20,958 15,836 208
Exposure to smoke, fire and flames 3,389 97,933 1,287
Fall on and from stairs and steps 2,766 119,991 1,577
Drowning and submersion while in or falling into swimming pool 841 394,642 5,186
Fall on and from ladder or scaffolding 557 595,860 7,830
Firearms discharge (accidental) 458 724,659 9,522
Air and space transport accidents 388 855,396 11,240
Cataclysmic storm (3) 217 1,529,464 20,098
Flood 95 3,493,618 45,908
Bitten or struck by dog 81 4,097,454 53,843
Earthquake and other earth movements 44 7,543,040 99,120
Lightning 15 (4) (4)
(1) Based on fatalities and life expectancy in 2021. Ranked by deaths in 2021. (2) Includes all types of medications including narcotics and hallucinogens, alcohol and gases. (3) Includes hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, dust storms and other cataclysmic storms. (4) Rates based on less than 20 deaths are likely to be unstable from year to year and are therefore not included. Source: National Center for Health Statistics; National Safety Council.