A similar event occurred last year. A company based in Tipton was fined £10,000 and paid £7,561 costs after one of their workers fell from a storage unit. The worker had been assembling the storage unit when he fell 10 feet. He suffered from broken ribs and head injuries. There was no edge protection to prevent him from falling. A HSE inspector said “While the injuries suffered were serious, they could have been much worse. A fall from this kind of height can be fatal.” It was decided by the court that sufficient precautions were not taken to prevent workplace accidents.

Falls from a height are one of the main causes of workplace accidents across all industries but the warehouse holds other dangers too. A company in Bolton was fined £12,500 and paid £4,230 in costs after one of its workers was hit by a forklift truck. The worker was kneeling down, measuring empty pallets when the truck ran over his right leg and trapped his foot. He broke three toes, fractured several bones in his foot and suffered damage to his skin, muscle and tissue. He had trouble walking for more than eighteen months after his injuries. The court found that the company had been negligent because stock was left in the aisles, which narrowed the route for the truck to pass through and there was no separate pathway for pedestrians.

Where vehicles and workers are in the same building, there should be measures in place to ensure that both can move about separately and safely. In fact, Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 stipulates that: “Every workplace shall be organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner.”

Other hazards can include slips and trips, manual lifting and the collapse of storage systems. Storage areas should be carefully planned and regularly inspected. Pallets or shelves should be loaded in a way that ensures stability and should not be overloaded.

In 2007/08, there were over 10,000 workplace accidents reported to HSE in the storage, warehousing and road haulage industries. Over 1700 of these accidents were major injuries, including fractures and amputations. The number of accidents that has occurred is a clear indication that employers need to be taking more precautions to ensure the safety of their workers.

Earlier this year, a tree surgeon was injured whilst up a tree near Winchester, after he got stuck in a fork of the tree. He hurt his hip and leg. A paramedic was hoisted up the tree in a harness in order to administer pain relief before the tree surgeon was lowered to the ground, with the assistance of a specialist rope rescue team, in order for him to be transported to the hospital.

This is just one of many recent incidents. A self-employed arborist was using a chain saw to cut the branches of a felled tree when he tripped and cut the tendons and artery in his arm. In another incident, a tree surgeon lacerated the back of his left leg whilst pruning a tree with a chainsaw. His employer had provided him with protective trousers which only had chainsaw protective material on the front of the legs and not the back.

Chainsaws have the potential to cause very serious injuries. The HSE suggests that most chainsaw injuries and fatal accidents happen when workers take shortcuts in order to save time. Sufficient training is also essential in order for workers to be able to operate dangerous and complicated machinery. Therefore, employers are responsible for ensuring best practice procedures are implemented and properly followed and that workers are trained up to use specific machinery.

The processing of felled trees and cut branches can also be dangerous. A worker operating a wood chipper used his foot to push branches into the chipper. His foot made contact with the blades and he suffered from lacerations which required skin grafts. The guard for the blade had been removed; his employer should have checked that the proper guards were in place, which would have reduced some of the damage caused.

Although working with trees can be extremely dangerous, the risk of workplace accidents can be significantly reduced if workers are trained and if proper procedures and best practice are implemented and enforced.

A trainee electrician recently suffered serious injuries after being electrocuted whilst installing a ceiling fan. His employer had failed to manage the situation, where he would be working with exposed live bus bars. The trainee was not properly supervised and did not have sufficient training or the experience to be able to control the situation safely. His employer was prosecuted under the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £30,000.

He was lucky to have survived. The UK mains electricity supply is 230v which is enough to kill a person. 50 milliamps of current is enough to cause pain, paralysis and, after a few seconds, will disrupt the heart beat which may lead to death.  The higher the current, the quicker these effects will take place. A 40 watt light bulb uses around 150mA, which is more than enough to have an effect. Usually, exposure to current above 100mA is fatal. The HSE estimates that there are around 1000 electrical accidents at work every year and around 25 fatalities as a result of electrical injuries.

Any work on electrical equipment, such as maintenance, inspection, testing and repairs should only undertaken by somebody who has the appropriate qualifications and experience to be able to carry out the work safely. The HSE recommends that all work with electrical equipment is thoroughly planned, completed by competent and trained workers using the proper equipment and working to established standards and best practice. Work should never be undertaken on live electrical equipment unless it is impossible for the work to be done dead.

Electrical injuries are just one of the potential hazards for electricians. The HSE estimates that six electricians die every week as a result of exposure to asbestos. Electricians may also work with ladders, at heights and with complicated machinery, all of which can cause serious accidents in the workplace.

Earlier this year, an electrician fell from a ladder whilst working on a boat, fitting bilge alarms. He broke his back in three places, fractured his skull in two places and suffered nerve damage. The company who owned the boat had failed to provide the correct ladder. The company was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £2,028 costs but the worker affected has had to give up his work as an electrician as a result of his injuries.

As in any profession, care needs to be taken that workers are protected from accidents in the workplace and that they have the training, experience and supervision to be able to work with minimum danger.

After the accident, a HSE inspector said, “Everyone involved in work on high speed roads should learn from this tragedy and consider whether they are doing enough to prevent needless deaths and injuries. Motorway works can be very dangerous places unless a high degree of control is maintained. Advanced warning signs should always be used when people are working on motorway roadworks to alert drivers that people may be in the road and exercise caution as they approach.”

A 2006 Highways Agency report ‘Roadworkers’ Safety Focus Groups’ states that nearly 20% of road workers have suffered from some kind of injury or accident in the workplace during the course of their career, working on the UK road network. Of the 400 respondents to the survey quoted in the report, 3% suffered major injuries, 54% had had a near miss with a vehicle, 40% had experienced objects being deliberately thrown at them from passing cars and 77% had suffered from verbal abuse.

Although these accidents may be the result of passing drivers, employers also have a responsibility to protect their workers from the dangers posed by passing drivers, whether deliberate or not. Drivers need to be made aware of work going on in the road through signs and barriers and workers need to be trained and supervised so that they are not put in a position where they risk an accident in the workplace.

Being hit by a car is not the only potential accident in the workplace that road maintenance workers face. In 2006, a road worker won £262,000 compensation. He developed Hand, Arm Vibration Syndrome and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome as a result of extensive use of vibrating tools. Because of this, he is no longer able to work in road maintenance. The employer was found to have encouraged long hours and excessive use of tools through a bonus scheme. Since the court case, the company has scrapped this bonus scheme and now monitors use of tools to better ensure worker safety.

Road workers also face the other hazards of working on a construction site such as slips and trips, falls from a height, injuries whilst lifting or carrying and injuries caused by moving objects (including the moving parts of machinery and falling objects). The Highways Agency Director has issued a statement stating that “Everyone is entitled to a safe workplace, yet road workers risk death and injury at work every day [and night] making sure our roads remain safe and in good condition.” The dangers of an accident in the workplace faced by road workers can be reduced through careful management by employers.

A HSE investigation found that the worker’s employers had failed to provide adequate safety equipment and training. Describing the incident, the worker said, “I thought it would just be a few pot plants but these cacti were 30 foot high. I had no idea what I was working with.” The company was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs.

Gardening can be a risky activity and professional gardeners face a variety of potential workplace accidents. The BBC Gardening website comments that in 2004, around 300,000 people attended Accident and Emergency departments after having an accident in the garden, of which around 87,000 were caused by gardening activities. Professional gardeners, landscapers and ground workers often work with complicated and dangerous machinery including powerful lawnmowers, strimmers and chainsaws. If work is not carefully planned and if proper safety procedures and risk assessments are not implemented, the result can be serious injury.

A landscape gardener was recently injured after a small metal object flew into his eye after it was dislodged by his lawnmower. The gardener had checked the area for debris before he started mowing but did not spot the object. As a result of this workplace accident, he has been left blind in his right eye. His employer has accepted liability after failing to provide goggles for this work. With the correct goggles, this accident could have been avoided. The gardener is awaiting legal proceedings for compensation but the fact that his employer has accepted liability indicates that he is likely to receive compensation.

The HSE report ‘Fatal Injuries in farming, forestry and agriculture 1999-2000’ includes the case study of a grounds maintenance worker who was mowing an overgrown bank. The long grass obscured a 2 metre drop. He fell into water that was 3 metres deep and drowned.

According to the website ‘Lawn and Mower,’ the most common types of lawnmower accidents are caused by: contact with the mower blade, electrocution, being hit by a reversing lawnmower, burns from contact with the engine, injury from an object dislodged and caused to fly from underneath the mower and having the weight of the mower falling onto a person, either from going up a steep bank or round a tight corner.

For any worker that works with lawnmowers or any other landscaping tools, it is important that they are trained in the proper operation of the machine and that they are provided with safety equipment  where appropriate, such as a circuit breaker to avoid electrocution if a wire is severed.

Another workplace accident occurred in Essex this year when a worker suffered nerve damage and nearly lost his finger in an injury on a circular saw. The worker was using the saw to cut a block of plastic but the guard had been removed and was not replaced. The company admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £6,000 plus £2,741 in costs. The company had failed to provide adequate supervision or procedures to check that the saw guard was fitted for each use. After the work accident, procedures were implemented to prevent future accidents.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a decline in the rate of major injuries in the manufacturing industry. In 2008/09, HSE statistics show a steeper decrease in the rate of major injuries than in previous years. This indicates that conditions for workers are improving and that companies are improving their health and safety procedures. However, manufacturing remains one of the most dangerous of UK industries. A higher proportion of workplace accidents than in other industries are caused by contact with moving machinery, being hit by a moving or falling object,  being hit by something stationary and contact with harmful substances.

Although generally the rate of injuries in the manufacturing injury has reduced, the recycling industry, which forms a sub-group within the manufacturing industry, has shown a much higher rate of major injuries. It is over five times the rate for the manufacturing industry as a whole and over eight times the rate for all industries in 2008/09.

A worker at a Reading recycling plant was injured by a needle after someone had put it into a recycling bin, instead of into a medical waste bin. The worker is awaiting the results of tests to see if he has picked up any infections from the needle. Workers who manually handle and sort waste are the most at risk of injury. The most common type of workplace accident in this industry is from manual handling, including cuts from sharp objects during refuse collection. Slips and trips also cause injuries, as do being struck by objects.

One recycling company has managed to reduce its injury rate by 90% in the last ten years. It has done this through risk assessments, audits and giving monthly awards to employees for best health and safety practice. Machinery assessments check blind spots and reversing cameras are installed where needed. The improvements that the company has made have meant that not only have they improved staff safety and reduced the number of workplace accidents but they have also saved £500,000.

A HSE case study describes staff in an office who were employed for repetitive keyboard work during shifts. They were required to hot desk so work stations were not adapted to individual members of staff. Several people took time off work with muscle pain and RSI because of this. As a result, work stations were looked at. Adjustable chairs were purchased and staff were trained in how to use them. Keyboard and mouse settings were also adjusted and the result was a reduction in the risk of accident in the workplace and thus a reduction in staff absences and lower staff turnover.

Another major risk in the office is from slips and trips. HSE statistics in 2008/09 indicate that slips and trips are the most common type of accident in the workplace and account for over a third of major injuries in UK industries. Electrical cables, worn flooring and objects obstructing pathways all provide trip hazards. Newly cleaned floors or wet patches in entrances may cause slips, particularly if there are no warning signs. One office was reporting a high incidence of workers slipping on one particular floor of its building. When it was investigated, it was found that the cleaner was using washing up liquid to wash the floor rather than the correct cleaning product which was stored on a different floor. Once the proper cleaning product was used, the number of slips reduced dramatically. This example indicates that there are precautions that employers can take to reduce the risk of their workers slipping.

A third type of risk in the office comes from manual handling. Because lifting heavy items is not usually part of an office worker’s job description, they may be untrained in how to do this properly. If a situation arises that manual handling is needed, for example, moving boxes of paper, then the worker may be injured if they don’t approach the task in the correct way. Therefore, it is important for employers to train workers in manual handling.

To avoid all types of accident in the workplace, the employer needs to carry out a thorough risk assessment. If a proper risk assessment has not been carried out by the employer, this negligence could result in injuries to workers.

The most common work accident types in the construction industry are slips and trips, falls from a height, injuries whilst lifting or carrying and injuries caused by moving objects (including the moving parts of machinery and falling objects).

Trips are the most common cause of workplace accidents. This is often because construction sites are found on muddy, uneven ground. Care needs to be taken that proper paths are put in place for the safe access of workers. If footpaths are uneven or obstructed and if there are cables strewn across paths or steps are uneven, this can cause workplace accidents. In 2006, a HSE inspection found that less than a quarter of construction sites were in good working order and 134 sites were closed immediately by the HSE because of poor conditions.

When construction bosses cut corners in safety in order to save costs, the results can be devastating to their workers. In 2007, a business man was jailed for 6 months and had to pay £90,000 compensation after one of the construction workers employed by him nearly died after being hit by a falling concrete lintel. Workers on the site were given no training and no protective clothing. No scaffolding or safety equipment was used. The worker involved was seriously injured and spent several months in hospital. He miraculously survived after his life support machine was switched off but it is unlikely he will ever be able to work again. It was found that the business man had cut corners in order to save money but his negligence very nearly cost one of his worker’s lives.

Unfortunately, stories like this are all too common. Reports suggest an increasing trend in construction workers being asked to sign forms to say they have been given safety briefings when in fact they haven’t. This means workers may be unprepared for some of the hazards on site and are thus more likely to become victims of workplace accidents. HSE findings suggest that employers are more likely to cut corners during times of economic recession and a recent survey found that 10% of construction workers are afraid to raise concerns about health and safety because of higher rates of unemployment in the current economic climate. These findings suggest that there are improvements that need to be made in order to avoid workplace accidents in the future.

The agriculture industry has the highest rate of fatal injuries of all UK industry groups and one of the highest rates of major injuries. The 2008/09 figures showed that fatalities in the agriculture industry were at their lowest rate ever but the 2009/10 figures show an increase in the number of fatalities.

Agricultural workers are more likely to be injured by moving machinery, moving vehicles, falling object and falls from heights than in other UK industries. They are also 11 times more likely to be injured by animals during the course of their work.

Around 400,000 people work in the agriculture industry. That’s 1.5% of the working population but it is a sector that witnesses 15-20% of all worker deaths in the UK. The total cost of injuries in the agriculture industry is estimated at £276 million a year. More than half of this is due to lost output – when an experienced worker is put out of action. The HSE estimates that a further 10,000 accidents in agriculture go unreported and are therefore not taken into consideration in these figures.

Workers need to be given comprehensive training about how to use complicated machinery and precautions need to be taken such as wearing protective clothing and installing guards where appropriate. Employers need to carry out thorough risk assessments to avoid their workers being involved in an accident in the workplace. This includes working at a height, such as moving bales of hay. Other potential risks are exposure to excessive noise or vibration through the use of power tools, breathing in dust or exposure to harmful chemicals and pesticides. If employers do not train their workers to work safely in these hazardous conditions and provide them with the correct protection, they may be acting negligently and risk the occurrence of accidents in the workplace.

When singer Lily Allen fell in a London restaurant earlier this year and was treated for whiplash as a result, it raised questions about the safety of restaurants as a place of work. With large numbers of people passing through, flooring can become worn or loosened, providing a trip hazard, there may be spillages on the floor which can cause slips and if lighting is dimmed, it can reduce visibility and cause problems walking, especially if staff are carrying stacked plates.

A waiter at a top London restaurant slipped and fell in the kitchen whilst walking through with a tray of drinks. The floor had not been properly cleaned and there was a patch of grease which caused the slip. He suffered from soft tissue damage to his foot and still suffers from pain two years later. He received £9,000 compensation after the restaurant admitted negligence.

The owners of a restaurant in Hull were also recently forced to pay £6,250 compensation after a worker slipped in the kitchen and knocked over a pan of hot cooking oil which burned her legs. In court it was found that the procedures the owners were following when draining oil from the deep fat fryer whilst it was still hot were extremely dangerous. The worker has been scarred for life and has trouble standing for long periods of time.

These workplace accidents emphasise the importance of having clean, non-slip floors and alerting workers to any potentially slippery areas through the use of signs.

Earlier this year, tennis player Serena Williams nearly missed the US Open after stepping on some broken glass in a restaurant. Restaurants do have a lot of glass about, with empty bottles, shelves full of glasses and glasses on tables at risk of being knocked over by diners. The disposal of bottles and broken glass needs to be handled carefully.

A restaurant worker was injured when she lifted a rubbish bag without knowing its contents. A large piece of glass pierced the bag and cut her leg. She needed seven stitches and also suffered from muscle damage. She had been given no manual handling training and there were no procedures in place for the disposal of broken glass, particularly for keeping it separate from ordinary rubbish.

Restaurants can be dangerous places for their workers and workplace accidents are all too common. This worrying trend of an increasing number of injuries suggests that many more workplace accidents will be reported in this sector in the future.