Consider, for example, the 2012 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that "laborers and freight, stock, and material movers" lost a total of 636,900 days of work due to on-the-job injuries. That's nearly 1800 years of labor lost in one calendar year. To us, that means not only expensive medical bills, but also 636,900 days of lost income for thousands of American families. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that nearly 11 million auto accidents happened in 2009 alone. To us, that means that millions of Americans without work, without transportation, and without the means to pay down the ever-growing mound of medical bills. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reports that more than 123,000 Americans lost their lives in "unintentional injuries" in 2010. Based upon life expectancy, those Americans collectively lost nearly 3 million years of life. To us, that means that 123,000 American families had a collective 3 million years to deal with those losses. For some of them, coping with the loss wasn't the only challenge. Medical bills piled up, food didn't always get on the table, and meeting basic needs became difficult or impossible. Sadly, many of these people live right here in Houston. They are our parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, coworkers, and neighbors. And they deserve justice.
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