Windham and New London counties have highest fatal injury rates in CT: what is the cause?
Windham and New London counties are the most dangerous counties for fatal injury, according to a new study by personal injury lawyers Connecticut Trial Firm.
Injury deaths in the study included intentional causes such as homicides and suicides as well as unintentional causes such as motor vehicle accidents. Injury deaths are calculated as the number of deaths that result from injuries per 100,000 people. Data was taken between 2016 and 2020.
Windham County had the highest fatal injury rate in Connecticut with an annual death rate of 90 per 100,000 residents. This exceeds Connecticut and the U.S. as a whole, which both have a fatal injury rate of 76 fatal injury deaths per 100,000 people. Windham County had a population of 116,418 as of the 2020 census.
New London County had the second highest fatal injury rate, with 88 per 100,000. The county’s population was 268,555 as of the 2020 census.
Fatal injuries increased from 2016-2020
During the years the data was taken, both Windham and New London counties saw increases in their fatal injury totals. In Windham County, there were 56 fatal injuries in 2016, 64 in 2017, 70 in 2018, 79 in 2019 and 84 in 2020.
New London County’s death total increased from 58 in 2016 to 78 in 2020. There were 65 fatal injuries in 2017, 69 in 2018, and 75 in 2019.
Ryan McKeen, a personal injury lawyer at Connecticut Trial Firm, believes that injury death rates might have increased due to more reckless driving.
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