West Virginia tops NSC list of states with highest rate of unintentional injury-related deaths

June 10, 2015

The National Safety Council has released its annual list of states that have the highest and lowest rates of unintentional injury-related deaths.

At the high end of the list is West Virginia at 77.2 deaths per 100,000 people, with New Mexico (64.3) and Montana (61.0) coming in second and third, respectively. States with the lowest rates are Maryland (26.9), New York (28.4) and California (28.7).

“Someone dies every four minutes in the United States due to an unintentional injury,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of NSC. “The top states are the best-in-class at addressing these preventable deaths, but they’ve also created a blueprint so other states may address the issues that threaten longevity.”

Unintentional injury-related deaths have overtaken strokes as the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and they are the primary focus of National Safety Month, observed each June.