The number of gun related deaths in this country hovers around 29,000. In 2004, 11,624 of those were homicides. An AMA abstract estimates the financial burden of gunshot wounds at $2.3 billion.
Before you get your panties in a bunch, consider that homicide (with or without guns) accounts for only 0.7% of all deaths in this country yearly. More than three times as many people die from influenza. Parkinson’s disease claims more lives than homicide in this country, but we don’t see people marching on Washington for that, do we?
If you know someone with Parkinson’s, you’d wish they were.
In fact, more people are killed (37,136) by unnecessary medical procedures per year than with guns. It is estimated that the total number of procedures, including those with non-fatal outcomes, runs about 7.5 million per year. Starfield estimates that infections in hospitals take up to 80,000 lives every year. According to the brief by Null, et al, 115,000 people die from bedsores, and another 108,800 die from malnutrition in hospitals.
The financial toll for “adverse drug reactions” runs $12 billion alone. Total costs for medical malpractice and negligence tally up to $282 billion.
Maybe that’s what we should be worrying about.