WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT WORK?
If you have an accident while at work. If necessary, you should seek medical help from your local general practitioner (GP or family doctor) or from a hospital. You should report the accident to your employer.
You should report any work place accident that occurs. An employer has an obligation to report any work place accidents to the Health and Safety Authority when an employee is missing 3 consecutive days at work (not including the day of the accident).
Work place accident statistics for 2020
The Health and Safety Authority’s annual report for 2020 sets out the statistics for workplace accidents in Ireland.
There was a substantial decline in the number of non-fatal work place accidents reported to the Health and Safety Authority in comparison with 2019. This decline was likely due to the public health measures that were implemented in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only sector which did not see a decrease was the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector. Manual handling and falls were the most common with the back the most reported injury in 2020. The most common working environment for non-fatal work-related incidents was industrial or maintenance areas for workers (25.5%) and shop or service areas for nonworkers (54.9%).
There were 53 work-related fatal incidents in 2020. 23 (43.4%) occurred in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing alone, while 15 (28.3%) occurred in Construction. More than half of all fatal incidents in 2020 occurred to self-employed people (28), with 12 fatalities occurring to employees and 13 to non-workers. All but three of the 53 victims of fatal incidents were male. The three female victims were non-workers.
You can get advice on making a personal injury claim by contacting Majella Walsh Solicitors on 021 4757477 or via email info@majellawalshsolicitors.ie for a confidential chat. Majella Walsh Solicitors are Personal Injury Solicitors in Cork who have extensive experience in Health and Safety Law and workplace accidents.