Costs of Firearms Violence

1. Costs, Ted R. Miller, PhD and Mark A. Cohen, PhD, The Textbook of Penetrating Trauma, Rao R. Ivatury, MD, MS, FACS, FRCS, and C. Gene Cayten, MD, MPH, FACS, eds., Williams & Wilkins, 1996, Chapter Five, pp. 49-59.

   Key Statistics: The cost of gunshot wounds in the United States in 1992 exceeded $112 billion�including pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. Medical spending per hospitalized gunshot victim averaged $25,000�including $11,000 in hospital payments for acute care. Each bullet sold in the United States in 1992 carried an injury price tag of $23�including 60 cents for medical care and emergency services, $7.20 for lost work, and $15.10 for lost quality of life.

   This chapter describes: the range of gunshot wound costs; an overview of cost estimation methods; costs per victim; national incidence; and, national cost estimates.

2. Hospitalization Charges, Costs, and Income for Firearm-Related Injuries at a University Trauma Center, Kenneth W. Kizer, MD, MPH; Mary J. Vassar, RN, MS; et al, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), Vol. 273, No. 22, June 14, 1995, pp. 1768-1773.

   Key Statistics: The actual cost of providing medical care for firearm-related injuries in the United States in 1995 is projected to be $4 billion. The majority of this cost will be paid indirectly by private health insurance.

   This study quantifies the actual cost of inpatient medical care for firearm-related injuries at a university trauma center.

3. Shooting in the Dark: Estimating the Cost of Firearm Injuries, Wendy Max and Dorothy P. Rice, Health Affairs, Winter 1993, pp. 171-185.

   Key Statistic: It is estimated that in 1990 the lifetime economic cost of firearms violence totaled $20.4 billion.

   This article reviews the state of knowledge of firearm injury costs. It presents detailed estimates that were developed as part of a larger 1985 study and then updates them for the year 1990.