The states most prone to accidents have been revealed in an interactive map from DailyMail.com – as data shows that in some parts of the United States you are more likely to be sent to hospital for a human bite than a dog bite.
Over the past 12 months, researchers looked at Google search data in all 50 US states for accident-related terms such as “broken nose,” “how to tell if a bone is broken” and “emergency care.”
They found that people in Arizona were the most likely to have an accident, with an average of 1,585 searches for accident-related terms per 100,000 people per month.
The most commonly used search terms in the state were “urgent care,” “minute clinic,” “urgent care,” and “sprained ankle.”
In the state that causes the fewest accidents, North Dakota, there were an average of only 325 similar searches per 100,000 residents each month.
The most Googled search term was “urgent care,” which was searched nationally an average of 2.2 million times per month.
Overall, the states where people were most likely to have an accident were concentrated on the east and west coasts, which may be related to denser populations and higher rates of urbanization, which can increase the risk of collisions, slips and falls.
In contrast, rural and sparsely populated states had lower rates of non-fatal injuries, according to this study.
The map above shows the average monthly number of accident-related Internet searches by state, showing that Arizona was the most accident-prone
The state-by-state accident search data was collected earlier this year by the personal injury law group Injured in Florida.
Following Arizona was Colorado, with an average of 1,432 monthly searches per 100,000 people related to accidents.
Rounding out the top five were Hawaii (1,401), North Carolina (1,323) and Washington (1,229).
The top search term in all of these states was emergency care. Other popular terms included “emergency room,” “minute clinic,” and “sprained wrist.”
At the other end of the scale were North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, Mississippi and Montana. In these states, the most searched terms were “urgent care,” “sprained ankle,” and “broken toe.”
Although the authors of this report did not suggest why coastal states were more likely to have accidents, previous studies have suggested that this could be due to denser populations.
This could lead to busier sidewalks, streets and transportation systems, increasing the risk of collisions, slips and falls.
A vibrant nightlife can also increase the risk of accidents, especially if alcohol is involved.
There are also suggestions that a higher density of cars and roads could increase the number of accidents as people are more likely to be hit by a vehicle.
A spokesperson for Injured in Florida said of the recent report: ‘These accidents, which include everything from a broken toe to a sprained wrist, can happen from a fall at home or an accident in the workplace.
“Arizona has been named the most accident-prone state based on the number of accident-related searches over the past 12 months.”
The study was released at the same time as a separate report by injury lawyers John Foy and Associates, which looked at the most common causes of non-fatal emergency room visits.
That study analyzed data from across the US collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Unintentional falls were by far the leading cause of nonfatal emergency department visits, after an estimated 5.5 million visits per year.
“Such accidents often result from slippery, messy or unstable walking/working areas,” they said.
‘These injuries usually result from hitting a surface at the same or a lower level after a sudden fall, mainly under the influence of gravity factors.’
The chart above shows ER visits for non-fatal injuries in certain states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Accidental poisonings – for example from drugs – were the second most common cause (1.71 million visits), followed by being accidentally hit by people, animals or objects (1.59 million)
In fourth place were injuries sustained in a car accident, responsible for 1.54 million emergency room visits. Rounding out the top five were intentional cuts and piercings, which attracted 1.29 million visits.
John Foy, founder of John Foy and Associates, said: ‘The data provided further important insights when looking at gender differences between male and female A&E visits.
‘For example, women are more likely to be victims of dog bites than men, which may be partly due to the fact that more than 70 percent of dog walkers are women.
‘Additionally, the data suggests that occupants of larger vehicles, such as cars, trucks or buses, are 590 percent more likely to sustain non-fatal injuries than motorcyclists.
He added: ‘It is also notable that straining alone results in more emergency room visits than dog bites, cycling incidents and bites and stings combined.’