September/October 1977 Issue

What’s Your Life Worth?

Societal Cost Components for Fatalities, 1972 NHTSA Study

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Here is a chart from a federal study showing how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has calculated the value of a human life. The estimate was arrived at under pressure from the auto industry. The Ford Motor Company has used it in cost-benefit analyses arguing why certain safety measures are not “worth” the savings in human lives. The calculation below is a breakdown of the estimated cost to society every time someone is killed in a car accident. We were not able to find anyone, either in the government or at Ford, who could explain how the $10,000 figure for “pain and suffering” had been arrived at.

COMPONENT 1971 COSTS
Future Productivity Losses
Direct
Indirect
Medical Costs
Hospital
other
Property Damage
Insurance Administration
Legal and Court
Employer Losses
Victim’s Pain and Suffering
Funeral
Assets (Lost Consumption)
Miscellaneous Accident Cost 		$132,000
41,300

700
425
1,500
4,700
3,000
1,000
10,000
900
5,000
200

TOTAL PER FATALITY: $200,725

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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