One of the biggest hazards for workers in the water, waste management, and recycling industries is the risk of being hit by moving machinery.
This type of accident accounted for 30% of all the fatalities in the sector between 2015/16 and 2019/20, according to the Health & Safety Executive.
Another 30% of fatalities were caused when the victim was hit by a moving vehicle, while an additional 21% resulted from the victim being hit by a falling or moving object.
Injury types in water, waste and recycling
According to the Labour Force Survey, around 4,000 workers per year suffered non-fatal injuries across the seven-year period from 2013/14 to 2019/20.
- Slips and trips and falls on the same level – 27%
- Manual handling accidents – 34% of all major injuries
- Struck by moving/falling/flying – 11%
- Being struck by a moving vehicle – 4%
What is clear is that the water, waste and recycling sector needs to do more to improve worker well-being. Previously, The Health and Safety Executive has reported that the sector loses an annual average of between 16,000 and 145,000 working days due to occupational injury and illness, with the waste sector accounting for 95% of these.
Personal injury help from Scotland’s largest firm
Whatever the circumstances of your workplace accident, if you are thinking about making a claim for compensation, it will help to speak to a specialist firm that understands the law and has demonstrable experience of securing compensation for its clients.
Thompsons is Scotland’s largest personal injury firm. It secures its clients around £1 million in compensation each week and wins more than 90% of the cases it takes on.
If you have been injured through no fault of your own, call us on 0800 0891 331 to see how much you could claim.
