HEALTH AND SAFETY AUTHORITY PUBLISHES ITS ANNUAL REVIEW OF WORKPLACE INJURIES, ILLNESSES AND FATALITIES FOR 2021-2022

INTRODUCTION

On 20 November 2023, the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) published its Annual Review of Workplace Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities for 2021-2022. This report details causes and characteristics of injuries, illnesses and fatalities that occur in workplaces across Ireland. The report combines data from three sources which are:

• the HSA’s database of all non-fatal incidents reported to it;
• the HSA’s comprehensive register of all work-related incidents resulting in a fatality; and
• Central Statistics Office (CSO) data from 2021 on days lost due to work-related injuries and illnesses as a module in its Labour Force Survey.

The report acknowledges that there are limitations to this data. Specifically, the HSA database of non-fatal incidents is limited due to under-reporting in certain sectors, whilst the CSO data is derived from a survey that contains less detailed information and for which the sample size is small.

They key points of the report are summarised below.

FATAL INCIDENTS

• There were 28 reported work-related fatal incidents in 2022, the lowest number in any year since the HSA was established in 1989. This represents a 26% decrease since 2021 when there were 38 such incidents.
• Construction is the second highest sector for fatal accidents (7) after Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (13).
• The most common causes of fatal incidents were falls from a height (11, 39%), falls as a result of loss of control of means of transport (10,36%)) and falling objects (2, 7%).
• There were victims across all age groups except for the 18-24 years group, but the highest number involve those aged 55-64 years (10, 36%).
• All but one of the 28 victims were male.

NON- FATAL INCIDENTS

• The 9,070 non-fatal injuries that were reported in 2022 were 8% higher than 2021, 16% higher than 2020 and 3% lower than 2019. The increase was likely due in part to the increase in employment figures and revived economic activity in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Manual handling and falls were the most common triggers, as they consistently have been since 2018.
• The single most common trigger was manual handling leading to internal injury (2,712, 30%)
• The most injured part of the body for workers was the back, associated with 26% of non-fatal accidents.
• 432,000 work days were lost due to work-related injuries. This fell short of the five year-average of 604,040 for 2017-2021.
• The number of days lost due to work-related illnesses rose by 16% from 987,600 (2017-2021 average) to 1,175,000.
• The three sectors with the highest rates of non-fatal injury leading to four or more days absence from work were Transportation and Storage, Human Health and Social Work Activities, and Construction.

NON-WORKERS

• 3 of the 28 victims of fatal injuries, and 363 (4%) of the 9,070 victims of non-fatal injuries were non-workers.

CONCLUSION

The HSA’s report highlights the importance of ensuring that workplace risk assessments are regularly carried out and reviewed, with suitable precautions and controls established. This is with a view to ensuring both worker and non-worker safety and reducing exposure to HSA investigations.