Kinds of accident

The "kind" of a reported injury is a broad description of how the accident happened. Specific kinds tend to be associated with different levels of severity, with little year-to-year change in the proportions of each kind.

Data for 2010/11 shows:

• More than half of employee fatal injuries were of three kinds: being struck by vehicles; being struck by falling objects; or falling from height.
• Handling injuries are the most commonly reported kind of accident  (RIDDOR)
• Slips, trips and falls made up more than half of all reported major injuries and almost a third of over-3-day injuries (RIDDOR)
• Accidents involving electricity, fire, explosion or drowning/asphyxiation accounted for one in eight fatalities but only one in 100 non-fatal injuries. (RIDDOR)
• About two million working days were lost due to handling injuries and slips and trips (LFS).

Distribution of employee injury kinds by severity, RIDDOR 2010/11 provisional

* Other kinds= animal; electricity; fire; explosion; drowning/asphyxia; unspecified; assault; hit something fixed; machinery; harmful substance