Accidents at work [Infographic]

Workplace accidents rarely result in death, but the injuries and illnesses that result can be life changing and even life shortening, leaving victims disfigured, disabled and in pain.

The government’s new initiative, Revitalising Health and Safety, will hopefully help to lower the figure of workplace injuries and illnesses. But in the meantime, this infographic by the team at Johnson Law shows us the statistics and most common causes of accidents at work.

The Cost of Lost Days

In 2012, the UK economy lost 22.7 million working days to work-related ill health, and a further 4.3 million days to workplace injuries. The direct cost to employers of these combined 27 million working days lost was £3.7bn, with another £1.5bn paid out in compensation, and an additional £800m paid by the government in industrial injuries benefit.

These figures, combined with NHS and social services costs, benefits costs for those that could no longer work and the cost to the workers and their families, is estimated to have cost society a total of £13.4bn!

The Most Common Injuries and Illnesses

The most common work related accidents are slips and trips, electrical accidents and manual handling or lifting accidents, and so the resulting injuries tend to be musculoskeletal injuries, including sprains and strains, back, head and neck injuries and repetitive strain injuries. Occupational asthma, deafness, dermatitis and vibration white finger are also high up the list of workplace injuries and illness.

From the types of injuries, it’s no surprise that the most dangerous workplaces seem to be manual jobs. These include agriculture, fishing, lorry driving, and of course, construction, which accounts for a quarter of all workplace injuries, despite the fact that only 5% of the population works in the industry.

Accident Prevention

There are a number of ways to ensure your workplace is as safe as can be, and these include:

A professional risk assessment: to properly identify all hazards and at-risk people.

An effective health & safety policy: to ensure all risks are properly protected against.

Professional health & safety training: to give all your employees the knowledge to keep themselves safe.

Health and Safety Training Ltd

Here at Health and Safety Training, we have years of experience providing tailored training courses, designed to reflect the individual risks and hazards of your workplace. From forklift operator courses, to risk assessment training courses, we can provide all the training you need to generate a culture of responsibility and safety amongst your employees.