New Survey Suggests Fall In Incidents

Workplace injury experts at Irwin Mitchell have revealed their concerns over new figures suggesting a fall in work accidents across Europe, warning that there was plenty of work still to be done to improve levels of safety in the UK.

According to theparliament.com, a new survey has revealed that accidents at work have declined throughout the continent, with companies involved in the poll also reporting regular improvements in safety management and prevention of incidents.

It revealed that, overall, countries recorded similar rates in work accidents. However, experts warned that there remains some discrepancy in terms of the reporting by companies across member states.

Louise Scott, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, specialises in acting for victims of work accidents, helping both them and their families gain justice and answers over how such incidents occurred.

Commenting on the figures, she said: “Reports of a decline are positive, but we have already seen recent HSE statistics this year highlighting that 171 people died at work in Great Britain across 2010/11 – an increase on the figure of 147 from the previous 12 months.

“Statistics like this clearly show that, regardless of Europe-wide figures, plenty of work still needs to be done to improve health and safety at work across the UK. Employers have a duty to follow guidance and also ensure staff are provided with the training and equipment needed to keep them safe.

“In terms of the European report, we would also urge authorities to make improvements to the reporting process to prevent any apparent discrepancies. Proper reporting and data collection would make a huge difference in assessing the success of efforts to improve safety standards at work.

“Ultimately, it is vital that every effort is made to learn lessons from the problems seen in the past and ensure that workers across all industries can be kept safe from any potential harm.”