per year
44-98,000 Medical Mistakes
          (Infections in hospitals is largest) (a)
76-137,000 Adverse Drug Reaction (a)
42,000 Motor Vehicle (1/3 are alcahol related) (c)
       2,500 Motorcycle
         640 ATV
19,700 Murder
14,500  Falls (Most in people > 65 yrs. old)
12,000  Poisoning & exposure to noxious substances 
        594 Carbon Monoxide poisoning
 6,000  Pedestrian accidents
 4,621  Drowning
 3,200  Fire, Smoke
   800  Bicycle
   714  Recreational Boating
   695  Water Transport (c)
   515  Railway (c)
   300  Illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border who die from
        heat, exposure and drowning
   193  Heat related illness (Newsweek 8/13/01 reported an av. of 318 deaths)
   129  floods
   128  Air Transport (another report lists number at 183) (c)
   100  lightning (b)
    69  tornadoes
    50  Bee Wasp stings
    42  Rip Current
    34  skiing
    30  sky diving
    26  winter storm
    22  hurricane
    15  Cold 
    14  Avalanch
     7  earthquake (50 yr. av.)
     0.4 shark (30 yr. av.)
     0.2 hail
     ? Dam failure
     ? Wildfire
   10 Drugs, medicaments and biologicals
   
 
US Natural disaster deaths per year 1960-1996: (Src: unl.edu)
flash floods  129     tornadoes   76
lightning      89     hurricanes  31

(c) Transportation Accidents (Auto, Train, Plane)
Air Transport is commerical only. General Aviation (including private) is around 600/yr.
Sources: 1. National Vital Statistics Reports - Vol. 51, No. 5, Hu's Index Accidents, NOAA, MedErrors.com
Most data is from 1998-2001, although some numbers are averaged over longer periods of time.
2. Weather Fatalities from NOAA.

Prevention