Slips, trips and falls
| For more information on Slips, trips and falls click here for the relevant chapter of the TUC guide to health and safety "Hazards at Work |
Slips and trips are the most common cause of major injuries at work. They occur in almost all workplaces, 95 per cent of major slips result in broken bones and they can also be the initial causes for a range of other accident types.
According to the HSE, on average, slips and trips:
- are 33 per cent of all reported major injuries
- are 20 per cent of injuries of more than three days to employees
- cause two fatalities per year
- are 50 per cent of all reported accidents to members of the public
- cost £512 million to employers per year
- cost £133 million to the health service per year
- cause incalculable human costs
Slips and trips accidents account for the highest number of major injuries and occur across all industry sectors.
In addition, according to the HSE, 46 people died in 2005/06 and 3,351 suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height in the workplace. Falls from height occur throughout industry.
Links
HSE slips and trips pages http://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/index.htm
On-line assessment tool http://www.hsesat.info/
HSE Falls From Height web page http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/index.htm
The most recent documents available on this subject are:
Employers are failing to prevent falls
Public sector union UNISON is warning employers that they are 'treading on thin ice', if they fail to take extra measures to protect staff slipping and falling.
PDF version available for download
22 January 2010
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