LAUSR

Key Points Question What is the association of firearm assaults with US hospital costs and deaths compared with nonfirearm assaults? Findings This cross-sectional study, using 3 years of US hospital admission and national US cause of death data on 2.4 million emergency department visits and 184 040 inpatient admissions for assaults, estimated that firearm assaults had the highest national death rates and hospital case-fatality rates compared with nonfirearm assaults. Initial hospital costs were also higher for firearm assault emergency department visits and inpatient admissions. Meaning The findings of this study suggest that it may be beneficial for policies aiming to reduce the costs of firearm violence to consider violence more broadly to understand the extent to which costs can be avoided.