HSE Fatal Accident Statistics 2018/19 – An Increase In Workplace Fatalities For 2018/19

Overview

The HSE has published its (provisional) annual figures for work related fatalities for 2018/19. The figures included are those that have been reported under RIDDOR to the HSE, Local Authorities or the Office of Rail and Road. The finalised figures will be published in Autumn 2019. It should be noted that the figures do not include patient and service user deaths for premises registered with the Care Quality Commission.

The data analysed shows that between April 2018 and March 2019, 147 workers were fatally injured at work. This is an increase of six from 2017/18 albeit the HSE explains that, in statistical terms, the number of fatalities has remained broadly level in recent years with the average annual number of fatalities between 2014/15 -2018/19 being 142.

Of the 147 workers killed in 2018/19, 106 were employees and 41 were self-employed compared with 97 employees and 44 self-employed persons in 2017/18.

Industry Sectors

What is clear from the figures is that the Construction and Agriculture industry sectors still account for the largest number of fatalities, with 30 (down from 37 last year) and 32 (an increase of three from last year) deaths recorded respectively, albeit the number of fatalities recorded in the Construction industry is the lowest number on record.

There were 26 fatalities in the Manufacturing sector, which is an increase of 11 from the previous year.

The figures also show that the risk of injury is greatest in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector and the Waste and Recycling sector with a rate of injury some 18 and 17 times as high as the average across all of the industry sectors (when considered against the annual averages for 2014/15 - 2018/19).

Accident Breakdown

Just five different types of accident resulted in around three quarters of the total fatal injuries for 2018/19:

Falls from height (40) Struck by a moving vehicle (30) Struck by a moving object (16) Trapped by something collapsing / overturning (11) Contact with moving machinery (14) Falls from height continue to be the major cause of fatalities whilst at work and that combined with being struck by a moving vehicle and struck by a moving object has accounted for over half of all fatal injuries each year since 2001/02.

Gender and Age

95% (139) of all worker fatalities in 2018/19 were male.

Interestingly 25% (37) of the fatal injuries were to workers aged 60 or over, even though they made up around 10% of the workforce. Workers aged 60-64 had...