Seven workplace accidents each day in Sussex (From The Argus)

Seven workplace accidents each day in Sussex

10:07am Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Peter Truman

Seven accidents happen each day at work across Sussex, according to latest figures.

Statistics revealed there were a total of 2,310 workplace injuries in 2011/12 in the county which left employees requiring three or more days off.

The total included one death in West Sussex, as well as 317 major injuries, and a further 218 in East Sussex.

In Brighton and Hove there were 63 major injuries and 285 incidents where workers needed three or more days off. One major accident occurred when two men plunged 30 feet at an industrial estate in July.

The two men were working at a skip hire firm near Arundel when they fell to the ground. Both were seriously injured. Another incident happened in April when a driver was crushed by a lorry.

Gary Prowse suffered serious injuries after he was pinned down by the vehicle during a delivery.

The 39-year-old from Eastbourne, who works for Drivers4U Southern Limited, based in Hailsham, was collecting scrap metal from the garage when the lorry crushed him.

But the figures, from the Health and Safety executive, show there has been a drop since last year. In 2010/11 there were 2,947 accidents in total, including one death and 589 major injuries.

Urging employers to make the safety of workers their top priority for 2013, Dave Rothery, HSE's acting head of operations for the South East, said: “Each year, instead of enjoying the occasion, families of workers in East Sussex who failed to come home from work safely spend Christmas and the New Year thinking of absent loved ones. 

“Hundreds of other workers who have had their lives changed forever by major injury will be experiencing difficulties of their own.

“When put into this kind of context, it is clear why health and safety in British workplaces needs to be taken seriously. 

“My new year wish is that we can reduce the number of deaths and major injury in 2013 and make the year ahead a happier one for many families.”