Recent data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that fatalities resulting from car accidents have been on a steady decline, but it is still one of the most common reasons for death in the United States. In 2013, the most recent year that complete data is available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that just shy of 34,000 died in a motor vehicle accident around the country, out of a total of approximately 2.6 million deaths overall.

These numbers include individuals who were pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and who were killed as a result of a traffic accident. This translated to a rate of 10.7 deaths per 100,000 people, giving people a one in 77 chance of dying of an accident.

To put this in perspective, the odds of dying due to an accident in general are one in 20 and the odds of dying as a result of poison are one in 53, according to the 2013 CDC data. The most common cause of death in the country is heart disease, and people have a one in four chance of dying of it. People in Montana were most likely to die as a result of a car crash, while those in Minnesota were least likely.

Even though the number of deaths related to car crashes is on the decline, fatal accidents will continue to happen, leaving the surviving family members of a person who died in a car crash facing significant financial losses in addition to their grief. If it can be determined that the accident was the fault of a negligent driver, an attorney can assist the survivors in seeking applicable damages through a wrongful death lawsuit.