HSE Publishes statistics of fatal injuries for 2003/04

HSC press release C038:04

29 July 2004

The Health & Safety Commission (HSC) today publishes the latest detailed statistics on fatal injuries in HSE and local authority (LA) enforced sectors in 2003/04 - Statistics of Fatal Injuries 2003/2004.

Fatal Injuries to Workers

The figures show that the number of fatally injured workers increased by 4% to 235 in 2003/04 from 227 in 2002/03. The rate of fatal injury also increased by 3% in 2003/04 to 0.81 per hundred thousand workers: the corresponding figure for 2002/03 is 0.79. There was a general downward trend in the rate in the 1990s, however it has risen twice since then, in 2000/01 and in 2003/04.

Nine percent of all fatal injuries to workers in 2003/04 occurred in one single incident when 21 people drowned while harvesting cockles at Morecambe Bay in February.

In 2000, the most recent year for which comparable data are available, the rate of fatal injury to workers in Great Britain was among the lowest of European Union member states.

In 2003/04, 114 (49%) of worker fatalities occurred in the two industries of construction (70) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (44).

Falling from a height continues to be the most common kind of accident, accounting for 29% of fatal injuries to workers in 2003/04. The number of fatal injuries of this kind increased in

2003/04 from 50 to 67. Being struck by a moving vehicle and being struck by a moving or falling object are the next most common kinds of fatal injury.

Industries

In agriculture, forestry and fishing, the number of fatal injuries to workers increased to 44 in 2003/04 from 36 in 2002/03. Of the 44 deaths, 21 occurred at Morecambe Bay. The rate of fatal injury to workers also increased from 9.6 per hundred thousand workers in 2002/03 to 11.4 per in 2003/04.

In construction in 2003/04, there were 70 fatal injuries to workers - the same number as in 2002/03. The rate of fatal injury to workers fell from 3.8 to 3.5 per hundred thousand workers, reflecting an increase in the number of workers. This is the lowest level on record.

In manufacturing, the number of fatal injuries to workers fell for the third consecutive year, from 43 in 2002/03 to 31 in 2003/04. The rate of fatal injury to workers also fell in 2003/04 from 1.2 to 0.9 per hundred thousand workers and is the lowest level seen in the period 1992/93 to 2003/04.

In service industries in 2003/04, there were 80 fatal injuries to workers, an increase from 75 in 2002/03. The rate of fatal injury to workers rose from 0.33 per hundred thousand workers to 0.35 in 2003/04. This is the second year in which both the number and rate of fatal injury have increased. The services sector comprises a wide range of activities and whilst the numbers of fatal injuries fluctuate year-on-year in many industries, the number in land transport has risen from 16 in 2001/02 to 24 in 2003/04.

In extractive and utility supply industries in 2003/04, there were 10 fatal injuries to workers, compared with 3 in 2002/03 and 14 in 2001/02. In 2003/04, the rate of fatal injury is 5.1 per hundred thousand workers, compared with 1.5 in 2002/03 and 6.5 in 2001/02. The rate of fatal injury in this industry is more susceptible to fluctuation due to the small number of fatalities involved. The 10 deaths in 2003/04 occurred in the supply of gas and electricity (2); open-cast coal working (2); the extraction of crude petroleum/natural gas (3); and other mining and quarrying (3).

For the combined three-year period of 2001/02 to 2003/04, the industries with the highest rate of fatal injury to employees include the recycling of waste and scrap (27.7 per hundred thousand employees); the mining of coal, lignite and extraction of peat (12.3); and the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (9.1).

Fatal Injuries to Members of the Public

The number of members of the public fatally injured in 2003/04 is 371, of which 240 resulted from acts of suicide or trespass on railways. For 2002/03, the corresponding figures were 396 and 257 respectively. In 2003/04, of the non-railway fatal injuries, 79 were in the services industry, of which 45 occurred in health and social work. The corresponding figures for 2002/03 were 83 and 47 respectively.

Notes to editors

1. The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take three or more days off their normal work to recover; a work-related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work-related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence (which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done).
2. As well as giving data for Great Britain, the statistics released today include statistics for Wales, Scotland and the regions of England, together with statistics relating to European Union member states.

Press enquiries

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