More still to do despite falling numbers of workplace fatalities, say health and safety bosses
Nearly three people are killed in Britain’s workplaces every week, new figures have revealed.
Provisional annual data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that 144 people lost their lives at work last year – up slightly from 142 in 2014/15.
While the statistics confirm that the UK remains one of the safest places to be employed in Europe, the HSE has urged businesses to learn lessons to help reduce the number of fatalities.
Martin Temple, HSE Chair said: “One death at work or life needlessly shortened, is one too many and behind every statistic lies a real story of loss and heartbreak and families left to grieve.
“Britain has one of the best health and safety systems in the world, but we should always be looking to improve and to prevent incidents that cost lives.”
The new figures reveal:
• 43 workers died in construction, the same as the average for the previous five years
• In agriculture there were 27 deaths (compared to the five-year average of 32)
• In manufacturing there were 27 deaths (compared to five-year average 22)
• There were six fatal injuries to workers in waste and recycling, compared to the five-year average of seven
• There were 103 members of the public fatally injured in accidents connected to work in 2015/16, of which 36 (35%) related to incidents occurring on railways
• HSE has also released the latest available figures on deaths from asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma, one of the few work-related diseases where deaths can be counted directly, contracted through past exposure to asbestos killed 2,515 in Britain in 2014 compared to 2,556 in 2013.
There have been great strides in Improving working conditions, with the rate of fatalities falling by more than halve over the last 20 years. However, there is still work to be done to make employees safer still.
It should also be remembered that the HSE’s figures don’t include the numbers of those who have been hurt at work, many of whom suffer life-changing injuries.
How can our personal injury lawyers help you?
Our personal injury lawyers, James Davies, Howard Bush, Stevan Stratton and Sian Mullane, specialise in representing people who have had accidents that are no fault of their own. They can see you at any of our offices in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Hadleigh, Melton and Woodbridge.
If you have been involved in an accident at work or suffer from an industrial disease, such as Mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation.
Examples of the types of claim and level of compensation we have secured for clients include:
• £200,000 for a client who had an accident on a construction site
• £130,000 for a client who was injured in a lifting accident at work
• £70,000 for a client who lost the sight of one eye in an accident at work
• £30,000 for a client who was hurt in two serious slipping accidents at work.
Call us on 01473 298125 and we will consider your case and discuss with you how we can help.
