Death At Work Figures Decrease

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released figures showing the number of work related deaths for 2012/2013 dropped when compared to the average figure over the five years before. This still accounted for 148 deaths but represents a significant drop when compared to the average of 181 deaths over the five years prior to this date. The figure also represents a drop of 14% compared to the figures for 2011/2012, when 172 people died from work related injuries or illnesses.

The Health and Safety Executive releases figures of fatal workplace accidents every year but the number of deaths means that comparing year on year is not considered the best approach. Instead, a single year’s figures is compared to a five year average in order to determine whether the tally is experiencing an upward or downward trend. The last full year figures show that 141 people died through work related injuries while the five year average is 181.

The HSE updates figures every quarter. These quarterly figures include a large number of incidents that are still under investigation and, as such, the figures are prone to change in time. For the quarter ending June 30th 2013, there has been a total of 57 fatalities. The industry which has experienced the greatest fatality is the services industry with agriculture the second most deadly and construction next.

Finalised figures for 2011/2012 show that two thirds of all injuries fall into four main categories. Falling from height, being struck by a moving object, being stuck under a collapsing object, and being hit by a vehicle are the most common causes of death in the workplace. Handling injuries are the most common form of all injuries and, when combined with slips and trips, approximately two million working days were lost as a result of these types of incident.

Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that employees are kept as safe as possible while at work. Employees that can prove negligence and suffer an injury or illness as a result of their work may have a right to claim compensation for their employer. Fatalities are obviously the most severe level of injury and a downward trend is obviously a positive sign.

Accidents At WorkNov 7th, 20130 comments