The medical costs of traffic crashes in San Francisco
The San Francisco Department of Public Health has been studying the medical costs of traffic crashes in San Francisco. Among their findings so far:
- Half of all patients at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital’s trauma center are people injured in traffic collisions.
- Every 17 hours a trauma surgeon in San Francisco responds to a serious injury from a traffic crash.
- Medical costs to treat severe injuries from traffic-related crashes at Zuckerberg San Francisco General amount to $35 million a year.
Traffic injuries can destroy lives and leave long lasting impacts on victims and their friends and families. Take the case of Jikaiah Stevens, who was injured by a driver while walking to work.
In the beginning, the cost for my hospital stay was $143,000. But after three years of doctor’s appointments, MRI’s, physical and cognitive therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic visits to help deal with the daily pain and then not being able to work resulting in the loss of my apartment for two years, the damage the collision did adds up closer to a million dollars. Being hit by a car while walking to work was devastating. I was a young person living paycheck to paycheck in the city. Without the fortunate help of my family, friends and community I would have ended up homeless.
San Francisco health officials plan to present a comprehensive study on the medical costs of traffic crashes in the city in March at the Western Trauma Associations annual meeting in Utah.
Information from a November, 2016 SFDPH press release. Photo credit: SF Citizen
