# how many people injured on 9/11? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299 "2002-10-21T22:54:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/1 "2002-10-21T22:54:26Z")
Maybe because I’m not in the US, but I don’t ever remember seeing a statistic on how many people were injured in the 9/11 attacks. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/2 "2002-10-22T00:38:53Z")
According to this [FEMA page](http://www.fema.gov/nwz01/nwz01_137.shtm): “The number of injured is 5,124…” I thought that sounded a bit high. I remember some hospital officials saying that they received fewer patients than they had expected, given the enormity of the situation. But [this page on Medical News Report](http://www.medicalnewsreport.com/med0110.htm) gives a hint to how many hospitals were involved and the numbers they saw. Over 1000 people either walked in or were ferried to New Jersey hospitals alone, not to mention those in NYC. Many were likely there to get the ashy debris out of their eyes and airways. Considering all this, the number reported by FEMA may be accurate. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/3 "2002-10-22T01:01:41Z")
Well, with all due respect to those who were ferried, I don’t know if I’d consider getting ash in one’s eyes an actual **injury**. It’d be nice to see a number for people who sustained injuries that put them in the hospital at least overnight. I suspect some of those listed in the Medical News Report fall into this category. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/4 "2002-10-22T16:24:16Z")
Well, it’s true that corneal abrasions are not very life threatening (just painful as all get out). I imagine those with restricted pulmonary capacity might have breathing problems. But IANAMD. I just figure that FEMA counts everything that comes to a hospital for treatment regardless of the seriousness (and again I could be wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/5 "2002-10-26T10:20:56Z")
How many people were actually killed? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/6 "2002-10-26T11:56:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Well, with all due respect to those who were ferried, I don’t know if I’d consider getting ash in one’s eyes an actual **injury**. The dust was pulverized concrete, glass, and soot. The concrete and glass portions can both cause cuts and scrapes to the cornea. This can lead to both scarring just from the abrasions - which can reduce your vision or lead to permanent impairment - or from infection in the damaged tissues, which can lead to scarring, blindness, or even loss of the entire eyeball. So, you don’t think that qualifies as an injury…? Yes, it’s fairly easy to treat - flush the eye(s) with water (15 minutes is usually considered the minimum) and treat with soothing/antibacterial/antifungul eyedrops until healed. But is quite possilbe that someone could end up requiring a corneal transplant to restore useful vision if there was enough grit and a delay in washing it out. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-injured-on-9-11/133299/7 "2002-10-26T19:52:11Z")
Sure, I’d consider those injuries, if that’s what they were. Can we tell how many of the ferried patients were released the same day with minimal treatment? Are those included in that number, or did those people suffer the kind of injury you mention, **Broomstick**?