Construction accidents and non-fatal accident statistics

The 2007/08 Health and Safety Executive figures detailing the rates of non-fatal construction accidents do not make for inspiring reading.

In fact, during that year, construction was the only major UK industry that witnessed a rise in the rates of non-fatal accidents compared to the previous year. In contrast to the non-fatal accident rate in construction, in 2007/08 other major industries that fall under the HSE's auspices actually experienced falls in non-fatal accident rates, down at an average of 5% on the previous year.

Unfortunately, the rise in the rate of this kind of non-fatal injury within construction means that their yearly number remained in the five-figure region, up from 10,849 in 2006/2007 to 11,120 in 2007/2008.

However, Stephen Williams, the HSE's chief inspector of construction suggested that the statistics should be seen in context. "Any rise in the number of major injuries in the construction industry has to be seen against the background of continued expansion of the industry, both in terms of output and the size of the workforce," he said.

He added, "The increase in the size of the workforce is significant when the accident rates are worked out. Over the last few years this has more than cancelled out any small increases in the numbers of accidents reported, leading to lower accident rates overall."

Accidents may be under-reported
There are fears that these figures may only scrape the surface of the true problem. There is plenty of evidence that many construction accidents are not reported to the HSE, sometimes out of laziness and sometimes for more sinister reasons, such as injured workers being employed onsite illegally.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT comments, "The latest HSE figures make grim reading. Especially as the majority of workers fail to report such accidents.

"The real accident rates are far higher- unsurprisingly given the growing casualisation of our industry.

"Workers employed through gangmasters or falsely self-employed are unlikely to report accidents through fear of being be laid off."

No win, no fee solicitors fighting to secure workers the compensation they deserve
If you have suffered personal injury in an accident on a construction site in the UK, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

We run a cost-free construction accident claim service, never charging you any costs or fees, while protecting you from those incurred by the opposing side.

In addition, all our no win, no fee solicitors are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and all are fully signed-up to our 100 percent compensation promise, meaning that they will never take a cut of your damages award.

Our friendly and trained legal advisors are available to help you and can be reached either online or over the telephone. Just fill out a claim form, use our echat service, or call us now on 0800 10 757 95.