A new report on the health risks facing Australians has revealed that the biggest cause of death for males under the age of 25 is car accident injuries.
‘The health of Australia’s males: from birth to young adulthood’, released August 1 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), shows that males are “nearly three times as likely” as females to die in land transport accidents.
“Males aged 0-24 were also more likely to be hospitalised for injury, and more likely to die from injury, than females of the same age,” said AIHW spokesperson Justin Harvey in a statement.
The death rate for males under 25 years of age was found to be 52 per 100,000. This is nearly double the rate for Australian females of the same age.
AIHW reveal in the recent ‘Australia’s Health 2012’ report that each year approximately 400,000 people are injured to a serious enough degree that they need to go to hospital.
In the case of Australian males, that amounted to a hospitalisation rate of almost 2,200 per 100,000 in 2009-10.
The average length of stay per case was 3.3 days, and from a total of 242,478 cases of males being hospitalised with injuries, 31,838 involved life threatening injuries.
Under the age of 65, the hospitalisation rate for males was uniformly superior to that of females. AIHW says that this was largely due to car accident injury and interpersonal violence.
In total, falls and transportation injuries contributed to 49 per cent of all hospitalised injury cases in 2009-10.
“Injury has a major, but often preventable, impact on Australia’s health. It affects Australians of all ages, is the greatest cause of death in the first half of life, and leaves many with serious disability or long-term conditions,” the report notes.
The AIHW states that it accounted for 6.5 per cent of the ‘total burden of disease in Australia’ in 2010, making injury prevention and safety promotion a national priority.
In New South Wales, those injured in car accidents may be eligible to claim for car accident compensation.
The motor accident compensation scheme doesn’t just apply to drivers and their passengers however, and also extends to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle pillion passengers.
Specialist Car Accident lawyers can provide expert advice on eligibility for this form of compensation and what amount victims may be entitled to.
