The Cost of Road Accidents in Athens
Keywords:
road accidents, cost, polytrauma patient, road safetyAbstract
Road traffic accidents are a contemporary matter of our society as they can have dire physical, mental and socioeconomic consequences. The purpose of this report is to highlight the cost of road accidents that occur in Greece, treated in General hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas” from 22/01/2018 until 20/03/2018. During this period of time our Emergency Department treated 135 victims of road accidents, 81 males 54 females. Due to the fact that our institution treats only adult patients, no patients under the age of 15 were included in the study. 57% of the victims, 77 patients needed hospitalization, 3 people were dead at the time of arrival and 55 patients were discharged home after the examination. There were 82 motor accidents, 4 cyclist drifting, 9 pedestrian drifting and 40 car accidents. The minimum immediate cost of a road accident victim is calculated at 38.99 euros, in cases where the patient had no severe injury and was discharged home. On the contrary, the cost of a polytrauma patient requiring hospitalization starts at 400 euros and can rise in extreme cases into the hundreds of thousands of euros. The immediate cost of a road traffic accident cannot be compared to the total physical, emotional and economic cost, which is associated with a prolonged recovery, disability or even loss of life. Consequently, preventive measures and constant vigilance in improving trauma care are essential in minimizing the socioeconomic impact of road traffic accidents in Greek society.
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