UK - Increase in number of workplace
fatalities
The most recent Report of the UK Health and Safety Executive for Workplace Injuries for 2018/19 reveals the following interesting facts:
1. 147 workers died as a result of work related injuries between April 2018 and March 2019, a rate of 0.45% per 100,000 workers.
2. The number of workers who died as a result of workplace related injuries has been decreasing since 1981 although the year 2018/2019 saw an increase on the previous year of 6.
3. The Report shows that the most dangerous sectors of the economy for workers are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Construction. Workers in those sectors are some 17/18 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than in other sectors of the economy.
4. The three most common causes of fatal injuries are falls from heights, being struck by a moving vehicle or being struck by a moving object.
5. Workers over sixty years of age account for 25% of the number of fatal injuries even though they only respresent 10% of the total workforce.
6. Ninety-two members of the public died as a result of accidents related to work, one third of which took place on the railways.
In 2017 2,520 people died in Great Britain as a result of Mesothelioma, contracted through exposure to asbestos prior to 1980. The number of people dying annually as a result of this remains broadly consistent and it is expected that these numbers will not change until the beginning of the next decade when the numbers dying from asbestos related Mesothelioma will begin to decline.
If you require any further detail or advice, please contact John Reid in O’Rourke Reid
Dial: +353 1 240 1200
Email: jreid@orourkereid.com
This document is for information purposes only and does not purport to represent legal advice.
© O’Rourke Reid 2019