When a child is murdered by another child or adult, commits suicide, or is fatally injured, nothing will bring that child back to life. Although relatively few children die each year in Minnesota, each death is an irrecoverable loss. While deaths by homicide and suicide often attract more attention, the leading cause of child death is unintentional injuries.
Many children also suffer lifelong disabilities from unintentional injuries.
The death or injury of a child affects their family emotionally, physically and financially as well costing Minnesota millions of dollars in health care costs. Research has consistently shown that injuries occur at higher rates among children of color and low-income children. These children are more likely to live in impoverished environments and lack access to safety devices such as smoke detectors. Thirty nine of those children were children of color. This number has varied up and down between 1991 and 1995.