Provisional figures show decrease in worker fatalities
The latest quarterly fatal injury figures in the workplace have been released by the HSE.
The provisional figures, which cover the period from 1 April — 30 June 2013, include fatalities suffered by employees, the self-employed and members of the public, and cover work-related fatalities that are reportable under RIDDOR.
The industries included within these statistics are:
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agriculture;
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extractive; gas and electricity supply;
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manufacturing;
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water supply; sewerage, waste and recycling;
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construction; and
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services (excluding railway incidents reported to the Office of Rail Regulation).
The total number of fatal injuries across all the industries was 57, with 34 of those falling under ‘services’ and 10 under ‘agriculture’. Of the 34 injuries in the services sector, 19 of those were to members of the public.
There are so far no recorded fatal injuries in the extractive sector.
As many of the cases listed within the fatal injury statistics are still under investigation, the figures are provisional and won’t be finalised until 2014.
Additionally, some deaths are excluded from these statistics as they’re reportable under other legislation. The main exclusions are:
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fatal accidents involving workers travelling on a public highway. Such incidents are enforced by the police and reported to the Department of Transport;
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fatal accidents involving workers travelling by air or sea, which are the responsibility of the Air Accident investigation Branch and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch;
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fatal injuries at work due to ‘natural causes’; and
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accidents to members of the armed forces.
For the 2012/13 full-year statistics on fatal injuries, the provisional figure 148 corresponds to a rate of fatal injury of 0.5 deaths per 100,000 workers (both employees and self-employed). This is down from the 172 worker fatalities in 2011/12.
Finally, the 2012/13 figures showed that 113 members of the public were fatally injured in accidents connected to work.
Provisional figures show decrease in worker fatalities
The latest quarterly fatal injury figures in the workplace have been released by the HSE.
Safety & Health Practitioner
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The only areas where office workers and ‘real’ workers remain distinct, is within those clear vessels of construction and agriculture; where accident frequency remains as high as ever, compared, say, to figures from the ‘sixties and ‘seventies.
And were statistics to include accidents involved in producing imported goods, once made in Britain; the the numbers would be higher than ever in our industrial history!