The unreported reality: Do people know how to report an accident at work?

Posted on: 02 May 2024 - 7 mins read

Associate Solicitor, Personal Injury Claims

64% of workers have had an accident at work which has gone unreported
Injury at work searches spiked by almost a quarter in three months
Workers in London are searching for help for accidents at work the most
These are the industries that have the highest number of non-fatal injuries
Workers between 45-54 are the most at risk in the workplace
Workers could be missing out on tens of thousands from workplace accidents

In the last year, 561,000 people have suffered non-fatal injuries at work with, sadly, 135 reported fatalities at work in that same year. Given that the average person will spend 90,000 hours or 3,507 days in work, we must know how and whom to report accidents. But is that always the case?

We’ve polled workers to understand if they have had an accident and if they have reported one before. We have also analysed data to reveal common times people may suffer from an accident at work, as well as which industries experience the most non-fatal and fatal injuries.

64% of workers have had an accident at work which has gone unreported

Almost two-thirds (64%) have experienced some form of accident at work (through the fault of their workplace) and it has gone unreported. Only 36% of workers have reported a workplace accident.

Staggeringly, 31% said they had ‘never thought to report’ the accident. This statistic alone could mean that the number of injuries reported could be significantly higher, particularly if workers are choosing not to report accidents.

There are many reasons that people may choose not to report an accident. One could be that the person is not aware they have sustained an injury at the time and, therefore, not reported it. In addition, workers could be unsure of how to accurately report an accident and choose to ignore it.

Further to that, 46% of workers are unsure who to report an accident to, which could mean those workers decide not to report an accident which could impact their ability to seek the right support. More than a quarter (27%) also said that they know the department to reach out to if they have an accident, which highlights more needs to be done in the workplace to advise workers specifically on where to go and who to speak to when reporting an injury.

Mark Howarth at Simpson Millar said, “it’s sad to see many people are unsure of what to do if they are in accident at work, especially if they suffer significant injuries. It’s important that you follow these steps if you do suffer an accident at work to ensure that you fill in accident at work form (you can ask your manager for information on finding this) as soon as you can, with as much detail as possible.

“Take photos of any injuries and any workplace damage (if there is any) and detail the names and contact details of any witnesses. If you are a member of a Trade Union, you should also contact them and report accurately what has happened as you will need to do so as evidence for any claim you might take.”

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Injury at work searches spiked by almost a quarter in three months

In the last three months (dated from April) searches for ‘injury at work’ have spiked by 21%, suggesting there could be a pattern forming in the times people suffer from workplace accidents. Digging deeper, we can see that this has also increased by 21% in the last year, with a further 108% increase in searches for ‘accident at work solicitors’.

To further understand the reasons why these may be increasing, particularly over the last three months, we analysed searches during certain times of the year to see if accidents could potentially spike.

Searches for ‘accidents at work’ are at their highest in March

In March, accidents at work are potentially at their highest according to the data, with related searches for ‘accident at work’ almost doubling than can be seen in August. In March this year, 8,200 searches were recorded, compared to 4,900 in August.

Month	No. of ‘accident at work’ related searches
March	8,200
February	7,780
January	6,980
November	6,890
October	6,820
December	6,520
September	5,720
May	5,590
July	5,470
April	5,390
June	5,060
August	4,900

So could spring bring with it dangers for workers?

The agricultural industry is one of the most dangerous industries to work in with some of the highest rates of fatal injuries and, coincidentally, their busiest months are spring, particularly March. So, we can see that several workers within the agricultural sector could be responsible for the rise in searches if suffering from farm accidents.

Similarly, construction workers are more likely to suffer from fatal injuries than any other industry and spring marks the start of construction season, with the warmer months the most popular for construction projects.

Workers in London are searching for help for accidents at work the most

We also analysed search data for locations to reveal the areas that are searching the most for ‘accident at work’ related support, including accident at work claims and solicitors, and found that London had the highest number of searches per 100,000.

London is home to a huge number of workers and due to that, construction projects,

which could be a reason behind the surge in searches. Alongside the searches, the capital also boasts the largest number of non-fatal injuries analysed, with 3,453 in the previous year.

Workers in Bournemouth and Cardiff are responsible for the second-highest searches for accidents at work, suggesting that this could be a particularly unsafe place to work. Bournemouth also recorded 310 non-fatal injuries in the last year. Cardiff was also once reported as the most dangerous place to work in the UK, with these results suggesting that it could still be for workers.

While Manchester has the second highest number of non-fatal injuries of the cities analysed, they are the lowest when looking at searches related to accident at work support, suggesting workers in the city are not reporting their accidents or are unsure where to turn.

City	Accident at work searches Per 100,000	No.of recorded non-fatal injuries
London	14	3,453
Bournemouth	12	310
Cardiff	12	432
Middlesbrough	10	143
Stoke	10	287
Newcastle	9	303
Coventry	9	283
Birmingham	7	1,031
Liverpool	7	581
Bristol	7	429
Leicester	7	323
Belfast	6	-
Brighton	6	209
Nottingham	5	363
Sheffield	5	447
Leeds	4	778
Southampton	4	228
Manchester	2	2,424

These are the industries that have the highest number of non-fatal injuries

When looking further into the data for the industries that experience the most non-fatal injuries, the results might surprise you.

Industry	Total number of reported non-fatal injuries to employees
Human health and social work activities	10,834
Manufacturing	10,382
Transportation and storage	8,059
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	6,873
Education	4,845
Construction	4,038
Accommodation and food service activities	3,992
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	3,405
Information and communication; financial and insurance activities; real estate activities; professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities	2,616
Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities; activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use; activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies	2,598
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	1,957
Administrative and support service activities	1,488
Arts, entertainment and recreation	1,450
Other service activities	812
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	690
Information and communication	484
Professional, scientific and technical activities	427
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	252
Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies	190
Financial and insurance activities	150
Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use	146
Mining and quarrying	104
Real estate activities	67

Source: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Human health and social workers are most likely to experience non-fatal injuries, with the highest number reported. They also have the highest number of injuries deemed as ‘over 7 days recovery time’. This is followed closely by the manufacturing industry. However, when looking at the most dangerous industries per 100,000, it’s agriculture that experiences the most.

The agricultural industry has 246 non-fatal injuries per 100,000, compared to 59 in the health and social work industry. Workers within the water supply and waste management sector are second for non-fatal injuries per 100,000, with 216 accidents reported.

Workers between 45-54 are the most at risk in the workplace

When analysing the demographics at risk of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in the workplace, we can identify it as those aged between 45-54. From the year 2014, until the most recent year of data collection, there have been 9,338 non-fatal injuries and 28 fatal injuries, placing them in the most at-risk age group.

This is followed by the age group 25-34 for non-fatal injuries (with 8,101 reports) but the 35-44 age group for fatal injuries, with 23 reported in the same period. This is likely due to the high number of people in the workforce in these age groups.

However, when looking into the rates of self-reported illness and the types of illness that have been made worse by work, we can see that there is one particular illness that is surging.

Stress, depression or anxiety was cited as the number one type of illness that was reported to have been made worse by work, affecting a reported 875,000 workers. This accounted for 17.1 million lost days of work, highlighting how more needs to be done to support workers, particularly if they do suffer from a workplace accident and other aspects of their lives are affected.

Workers could be missing out on tens of thousands from workplace accidents

If you suffer an accident at work, you may be unsure where to turn. We understand it is an extremely difficult time, especially if you have suffered serious injuries which could leave you unable to work again.

We have supported and helped many people who have suffered from:

We have supported and helped many people who have suffered from:
Accidents due to broken machinery (or dangerous machinery)
Slips, trips and falls
Construction site accidents
Manual handling accidents and many more
Falls from height
Struck by moving objects

You may be facing day-to-day challenges, so our trusted personal injury lawyers will provide clear and quick guidance at every step of the way to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Methodology

We analysed data from Google Keyword Planner and the Health Safety Executive. We also polled 278 people on reporting accidents at work.

References:

Health and Safety Statistics: Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Retrieved from: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm

Wales is the most dangerous place to work in the UK, according to health and safety officials. Retrieved from: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-most-dangerous-place-work-1794257

Jonathan Thursby

Associate Solicitor, Personal Injury Claims

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Areas of Expertise:

Personal Injury

Jonathan is an Associate Solicitor in our Serious Injury department, specialising in Employers’ Liability (accidents at work) and Public Liability (accidents in a public place) cases.

He prides himself on being approachable and sensitive to the needs of his clients, and he is also practical with strong attention to detail.

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