One-year economic consequences of accidents in a Swedish municipality

The objectives of this study were to develop a system to calculate the economic consequences of accidents and to account for the economic consequences of all accidents during 1 year in a district. A total population injury survey was done in an area with a population of over 41,000. All accidents (N=4926) occurring within a 12-month period and requiring medical care were noted. The costs (calculated at 1991 prices) to the health care service (outpatient care, including primary health care and hospital care) were SEK 23.7 million (US$3.59 million), to trade and industry SEK 79.7 million (US$12.08 million), and for health insurance SEK 9.1 million (US$1.38 million). The cost for society of uninsured people is not possible to estimate using loss of production. However, the time lost from ''normal activities'' was registered. If this time is valued at the same price as working hours, a welfare cost of SEK 43.1 million (US$6.53 million) should be added. In a forthcoming paper, an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of interventions against accidents will be published.