Severity of injury is underestimated in the absence of autopsy verification.

Background: Trauma disproportionately affects young, productive citizens. To decrease the preventable death rate and morbidity, and to save society some of the estimated 230 million dollars per day revenue loss attributable to these injuries, trauma systems were developed. New York State instituted a population-based regional trauma registry to enter all patients meeting appropriate International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnostic codes.