Statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that the number of people in Britain injured and made unwell at work has continued to fall.

Statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that the number of people in Britain injured and made unwell at work has continued to fall. The figures relate to the year April 2010 to March 2011.

Overall, 24,726 major injuries (such as amputations, fractures and burns) were reported – a rate of 99 injuries per 100,000 workers – compared with 26,268 in 2009/10. The construction (173.2 major injuries per 100,000 employees) and agricultural (221.9 major injuries per 100,000 employees) industries continue to report the highest levels of work-related injuries, with disproportionately high numbers of incidents. In addition:

• 90,653 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days were reported – a rate of 363.1 injuries per 100,000 workers – down from 96,427 the previous year; and

• an estimated 1.2 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work, down from 1.3 million in 2009/10. Of these, 500,000 were new illnesses occurring in the year.

The report confirms that Britain continues to have the lowest rate of fatal occupational injuries in Europe as well as one of the lowest levels of work-related ill health.

Workplace injury and ill health resulted in 26 million working days being lost, which is an average of 15 days per case. Of these, 22 million days were lost owing to ill health and 4 million owing to injury.

There was, however, an increase in the number of workers fatally injured, with 171 workers suffering a fatal injury compared with 147 in the previous year. In the event of a fatality or serious accident it remains crucial that legal advice is sought as soon after the event as possible so that statements and evidence can be gathered as quickly as possible with the aim of setting out as early as possible the strengths and weaknesses of a potential prosecution case.

The full report can be found at the HSE's website.