Three places in the Midlands had more than double the national rate of people seriously injured at work, latest figures show ahead of Injury Awareness Week (24-28 June).
The highest number was North Warwickshire, where 852 workers were injured per every 100,000 workers. The rate for England is 212 per 100,000.
In South Staffordshire the rate was 599. Bolsover in Derbyshire was 550, North West Leicestershire (494) and Blaby in Leicestershire (459).
“These workers have suffered serious injuries, including burns, fractures, and loss of consciousness, and were unable to work for seven days or more. Their injuries were so bad they had to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE),” said Mike Benner, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, which is hosting Injury Awareness Week to highlight the impact of avoidable harm.
“Some of these injuries will have been accidents which are unavoidable, but many could and should have been prevented,” Mike said.
“Overall, an estimated 35.2 million working days were lost due to work-related injury and ill-health in 2022 to 2023, and the cost to the economy is £20.7 billion a year according to latest figures*. Needless workplace harm is bad for workers and bad for business,” he said.
“Behind the statistics are the workers and their families who suffer the consequences when proper care is not taken”.