The top causes of unintentional death may surprise you

Many people know that the top two reasons for death in the United States are heart disease and cancer. Cancer used to be the leading cause of death but has since been surpassed by heart disease. When you go beyond those two reasons, you find causes such as:

• Unintentional poisoning
• Unintentional motor vehicle accidents
• Unintentional drowning
• Unintentional falls

From ages 1 to 44, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans. But even outside of these age ranges, unintentional injuries can still rank very high. For instance, infants may sadly pass away due to medical mistakes made during childbirth. Those who are elderly may suffer injuries while living in a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

Just because an accident was unintentional does not mean no one was at fault

In matters of personal injury, a person’s negligence could make that person at fault if the negligence causes an injury to someone else. For example, a person may not intend to crash into your car and hurt you, but that person may still be negligent and therefore at fault.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to someone else’s negligent actions, you may be owed significant compensation for your medical expenses, lost income and other costs. The same goes for a death caused by someone else’s negligence. Through a wrongful death lawsuit, you may be able to obtain financial compensation for what you and your family have endured or expect to endure as a result of the death. To learn more, please see our overview of wrongful death claims in New Mexico.