05 Jun Costs of Bike Accidents Skyrocket
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Gaither
Tom Gaither, MD, MAS
Department of Urology
San Francisco, CA 94143
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Admission to the hospital because of bicycle crashes has increased over the past 15 years. We aimed to estimate the costs due to these bicycle crashes.
From 1999 to 2013, the total costs due to these injuries (direct medical costs, work loss costs, and pain and suffering) were $209 billion dollars. Costs due to non-fatal injuries have increased by 137% over the study period. In 2013, the total direct and indirect costs were $24 billion dollars, which is approximately doubling the costs due to occupational injuries in the US.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Costs due to bicycle crashes represent a significant burden on the US, and these estimates are rising steadily each year. Future efforts should focus on injury prevention as cycling is becoming more and more popular.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: Future research should focus on ways to prevent injuries. We believe that cost effectiveness research is needed, especially in the area of infrastructure.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: We appreciate your time for covering our article. We have no financial or commercial disclosures.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Thomas W Gaither, Thomas A Sanford, Mohannad A Awad, E Charles Osterberg, Gregory P Murphy, Bruce A Lawrence, Ted R Miller, Benjamin N Breyer. Estimated total costs from non-fatal and fatal bicycle crashes in the USA: 1997–2013. Injury Prevention, 2017; injuryprev-2016-042281 DOI: 10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042281
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Last Updated on June 5, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD