New Data Reveals How Preventable Death Risk Shifts Across the American Lifespan

A new analysis from The Schiller Kessler Group of national injury mortality data shows that while preventable deaths dropped 11.3% in 2024 to 197,449, a second straight year of decline, the risk of dying from a preventable cause looks entirely different depending on a person’s age, and the total remains well above pre-pandemic norms.

The data shows just how sharply preventable death rates have swung over the past six years. In 2019, 173,040 Americans died from preventable injuries. That figure jumped 16% to 200,955 in 2020 as the pandemic took hold, driven by a 16% rise in poisoning deaths and a 9% rise in motor vehicle fatalities tied to increased speeding on emptier roads and reduced access to substance use treatment. The toll rose again by 11.9% in 2021 and hit a record 227,039 deaths in 2022, the highest total since 1947 and a rate of 68.1 per 100,000, double the historic low recorded in 1992. Since then, preventable deaths have fallen 1.9% in 2023 and 11.3% in 2024, with home deaths down 14.2%, public deaths down 10.3%, workplace deaths down 4.6%, and motor vehicle deaths down 4.4% compared with the prior year, alongside a 24% drop in poisoning deaths tied to expanded naloxone access and harm reduction efforts. Even so, the 2024 age-adjusted rate of 52.1 per 100,000 remains far above the 1992 low of 34 per 100,000, and total preventable deaths remain 14.1% above the 2019 pre-pandemic baseline of 173,040.

Age plays a defining role in which risks matter most. Among children under 10, suffocation and drowning were the leading causes behind 3,052 deaths in 2024, risks researchers say can be reduced through caregiver education and stronger product safety standards. Motor vehicle crashes were the top cause among those aged 10 to 19, who accounted for 4,921 deaths, largely tied to inexperience and distracted or risky driving. Adults aged 20 to 29 accounted for 17,105 deaths, or 8.7% of the total, with poisoning, drug overdoses, and traffic fatalities the primary drivers.

Working-age adults bear the heaviest overall burden. Adults aged 30 to 39 accounted for 27,981 deaths, or 14.2% of the total, nearly matching the toll among those over 85, while those aged 40 to 49 accounted for 27,038 deaths, or 13.7%, and those aged 50 to 59 accounted for 26,613 deaths, or 13.5%. Poisoning and drug overdoses were the dominant cause across these groups, with West Virginia alone recording a rate of 138.2 preventable deaths per 100,000 among adults aged 35 to 39 and 151.3 per 100,000 among those aged 40 to 44, underscoring how concentrated the overdose crisis remains in certain communities. Among older Americans, falls become the leading threat, contributing to 27,699 deaths among those aged 60 to 69, 22,224 among those aged 70 to 79, and 12,539 among those aged 80 to 84, while adults over 85 recorded 27,996 deaths, the single highest total of any age group, with the sharpest rates concentrated in Wisconsin (990.36 per 100,000), Vermont (932.73), and Minnesota (863.63).

Falls carry a heavy economic toll as well, particularly in the workplace. According to the 2024 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, U.S. industries incurred $58.07 billion in direct worker injury costs in 2021, with general falls and falls from height consistently ranking among the five costliest workplace injury categories, and indirect costs, including lost productivity and retraining, often running roughly five times higher than the direct cost of an injury. Falls were the second leading cause of preventable death overall in 2024 at 48,308 lives and accounted for 35% of all preventable nonfatal injuries treated in emergency departments, more than any other single cause.

Drowning further illustrates how unevenly preventable death risk is distributed. Between 1999 and 2019, the U.S. recorded 81,947 unintentional drowning deaths, with American Indian and Alaska Native populations drowning at twice the rate of White Americans and Black Americans drowning at 1.5 times the rate. The gap is starkest among children, with Black children aged 5 to 9 drowning at 2.6 times the rate of White children, rising to 3.6 times among those aged 10 to 14, and 7.6 times in swimming pools specifically. More than half of U.S. adults have never taken a swimming lesson, a figure that rises to nearly two thirds of Black adults and three quarters of Hispanic adults, reflecting unequal access to pools and instruction in lower income communities. Drowning caused 4,540 deaths in 2024 alone.

“These numbers tell a different story depending on whether you’re talking about a toddler, a construction worker, or a grandparent, but every one of those stories represents a family that lost someone they loved,” said a spokesperson for the Florida wrongful death legal team at InjuredInFlorida.com. “Understanding exactly where and how these risks show up helps us fight harder for families seeking accountability and compensation.”