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The unreported reality: Do people know how to report an accident at work?

Posted on: 7 mins read
Mark Howarth

Partner, Personal Injury Solicitor

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In the last year, 561,000 people have suffered non-fatal injuries at work with, sadly, 135 reported fatalities at work in that same year. Given that the average person will spend 90,000 hours or 3,507 days in work, we must know how and whom to report accidents. But is that always the case?

We’ve polled workers to understand if they have had an accident and if they have reported one before. We have also analysed data to reveal common times people may suffer from an accident at work, as well as which industries experience the most non-fatal and fatal injuries.

64% of workers have had an accident at work which has gone unreported

Almost two-thirds (64%) have experienced some form of accident at work (through the fault of their workplace) and it has gone unreported. Only 36% of workers have reported a workplace accident.

Staggeringly, 31% said they had ‘never thought to report’ the accident. This statistic alone could mean that the number of injuries reported could be significantly higher, particularly if workers are choosing not to report accidents.

There are many reasons that people may choose not to report an accident. One could be that the person is not aware they have sustained an injury at the time and, therefore, not reported it. In addition, workers could be unsure of how to accurately report an accident and choose to ignore it.

Further to that, 46% of workers are unsure who to report an accident to, which could mean those workers decide not to report an accident which could impact their ability to seek the right support. More than a quarter (27%) also said that they know the department to reach out to if they have an accident, which highlights more needs to be done in the workplace to advise workers specifically on where to go and who to speak to when reporting an injury.

Mark Howarth at Simpson Millar said, “it’s sad to see many people are unsure of what to do if they are in accident at work, especially if they suffer significant injuries. It’s important that you follow these steps if you do suffer an accident at work to ensure that you fill in accident at work form (you can ask your manager for information on finding this) as soon as you can, with as much detail as possible.

“Take photos of any injuries and any workplace damage (if there is any) and detail the names and contact details of any witnesses. If you are a member of a Trade Union, you should also contact them and report accurately what has happened as you will need to do so as evidence for any claim you might take.”

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Injury at work searches spiked by almost a quarter in three months

In the last three months (dated from April) searches for ‘injury at work’ have spiked by 21%, suggesting there could be a pattern forming in the times people suffer from workplace accidents. Digging deeper, we can see that this has also increased by 21% in the last year, with a further 108% increase in searches for ‘accident at work solicitors’.

To further understand the reasons why these may be increasing, particularly over the last three months, we analysed searches during certain times of the year to see if accidents could potentially spike.

Searches for ‘accidents at work’ are at their highest in March

In March, accidents at work are potentially at their highest according to the data, with related searches for ‘accident at work’ almost doubling than can be seen in August. In March this year, 8,200 searches were recorded, compared to 4,900 in August.

Month

No. of ‘accident at work’ related searches

March

8,200

February

7,780

January

6,980

November

6,890

October

6,820

December

6,520

September

5,720

May

5,590

July

5,470

April

5,390

June

5,060

August

4,900

So could spring bring with it dangers for workers? 

The agricultural industry is one of the most dangerous industries to work in with some of the highest rates of fatal injuries and, coincidentally, their busiest months are spring, particularly March. So, we can see that several workers within the agricultural sector could be responsible for the rise in searches if suffering from farm accidents.

Similarly, construction workers are more likely to suffer from fatal injuries than any other industry and spring marks the start of construction season, with the warmer months the most popular for construction projects.

Workers in London are searching for help for accidents at work the most

We also analysed search data for locations to reveal the areas that are searching the most for ‘accident at work’ related support, including claims and solicitors, and found that London had the highest number of searches per 100,000. 

London is home to a huge number of workers and due to that, construction projects,

which could be a reason behind the surge in searches. Alongside the searches, the capital also boasts the largest number of non-fatal injuries analysed, with 3,453 in the previous year. 

Workers in Bournemouth and Cardiff are responsible for the second-highest searches for accidents at work, suggesting that this could be a particularly unsafe place to work. Bournemouth also recorded 310 non-fatal injuries in the last year. Cardiff was also once reported as the most dangerous place to work in the UK, with these results suggesting that it could still be for workers. 

While Manchester has the second highest number of non-fatal injuries of the cities analysed, they are the lowest when looking at searches related to accident at work support, suggesting workers in the city are not reporting their accidents or are unsure where to turn.

City

Accident at work searches Per 100,000

No.of recorded non-fatal injuries

London

14

3,453

Bournemouth

12

310

Cardiff

12

432

Middlesbrough

10

143

Stoke

10

287

Newcastle

9

303

Coventry

9

283

Birmingham

7

1,031

Liverpool

7

581

Bristol

7

429

Leicester

7

323

Belfast

6

-

Brighton

6

209

Nottingham

5

363

Sheffield

5

447

Leeds

4

778

Southampton

4

228

Manchester

2

2,424

These are the industries that have the highest number of non-fatal injuries

When looking further into the data for the industries that experience the most non-fatal injuries, the results might surprise you.

Industry

Total number of reported non-fatal injuries to employees

Human health and social work activities

10,834

Manufacturing

10,382

Transportation and storage

8,059

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

6,873

Education

4,845

Construction

4,038

Accommodation and food service activities

3,992

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

3,405

Information and communication; financial and insurance activities; real estate activities; professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities

2,616

Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities; activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use; activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

2,598

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

1,957

Administrative and support service activities

1,488

Arts, entertainment and recreation

1,450

Other service activities

812

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

690

Information and communication

484

Professional, scientific and technical activities

427

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

252

Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

190

Financial and insurance activities

150

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use

146

Mining and quarrying

104

Real estate activities

67

Source: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 

Human health and social workers are most likely to experience non-fatal injuries, with the highest number reported. They also have the highest number of injuries deemed as ‘over 7 days recovery time’. This is followed closely by the manufacturing industry. However, when looking at the most dangerous industries per 100,000, it’s agriculture that experiences the most. 

The agricultural industry has 246 non-fatal injuries per 100,000, compared to 59 in the health and social work industry. Workers within the water supply and waste management sector are second for non-fatal injuries per 100,000, with 216 accidents reported.

Workers between 45-54 are the most at risk in the workplace

When analysing the demographics at risk of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in the workplace, we can identify it as those aged between 45-54. From the year 2014, until the most recent year of data collection, there have been 9,338 non-fatal injuries and 28 fatal injuries, placing them in the most at-risk age group. 

This is followed by the age group 25-34 for non-fatal injuries (with 8,101 reports) but the 35-44 age group for fatal injuries, with 23 reported in the same period. This is likely due to the high number of people in the workforce in these age groups. 

However, when looking into the rates of self-reported illness and the types of illness that have been made worse by work, we can see that there is one particular illness that is surging. 

Stress, depression or anxiety was cited as the number one type of illness that was reported to have been made worse by work, affecting a reported 875,000 workers. This accounted for 17.1 million lost days of work, highlighting how more needs to be done to support workers, particularly if they do suffer from a workplace accident and other aspects of their lives are affected.

Workers could be missing out on tens of thousands from workplace accidents

If you suffer an accident at work, you may be unsure where to turn. We understand it is an extremely difficult time, especially if you have suffered serious injuries which could leave you unable to work again. 

We have supported and helped many people who have suffered from:

  • We have supported and helped many people who have suffered from:
  • Accidents due to broken machinery (or dangerous machinery)
  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Construction site accidents
  • Manual handling accidents and many more
  • Falls from height
  • Struck by moving objects

You may be facing day-to-day challenges, so our trusted personal injury experts will provide clear and quick guidance at every step of the way to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Methodology

We analysed data from Google Keyword Planner and the Health Safety Executive. We also polled 278 people on reporting accidents at work.

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References:

Health and Safety Statistics: Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Retrieved from: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm

Wales is the most dangerous place to work in the UK, according to health and safety officials. Retrieved from: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-most-dangerous-place-work-1794257

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