Three day accidents

Accidents at work can lead to serious injury and even death. Although accident rates are discussed in greater detail in later chapters, some trends are shown in Tables 1.1-1.4. A major accident is a serious accident typically involving a fracture of a limb or a 24-hour stay in a hospital. An over three-day accident is an accident that leads to more than three days off work. Statistics are collected on all people who are injured at places of work not just employees. 

Until a few years ago, accidents caused by the manual handling of loads were the largest single cause of over three-day accidents reported to the HSE. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations recognized this fact... 

Approximately 8% of all fatalities at work are caused by electric shock. Over the last few years, there have been between 12 and 16 employee deaths due to electricity, between 210 and 258 major accidents and about 500 over three-day accidents each year. The majority of the fatalities occur in the agriculture, extractive and utility supply and service industries, while the majority of the major accidents happen in the manufacturing, construction and service industries. 

An accident, other than one causing a major injury, which results in a person being incapacitated for work of a kind which he might reasonably be expected to do. .. for more than three consecutive days (excluding the day of the accident, but including days which would not have been working days) is referred to as a three day accident and is only required to be notified by a written report. 

Fatalities, major injuries, dangerous occurrences and three day accidents have to be reported on Form F2508. The main requirements for information on this form are ... 

A mixture of 80 cm3 of nitric acid, 80 cm3 of hydrogen fluoride and 240 cm3 of glycerine was used to polish a metal. It was stored after treatment. It detonated three days later. Did the metal that was found in what was left of this mixture after the accident play a role In the detonation (reaction (3)) ... 

Since output is fixed, the firm s economic problem is to minimize the sum of labor costs and safety costs. In this example, each foreman is paid 100,000 and each construction laborer is paid 40,000. Each accident costs 30,000 in terms of replacement labor and capital costs. These are the only costs associated with on-the-job accidents. Initially, suppose a workers compensation system is in place that only pays some of the lost wages after the waiting period, though the firm s HRM practices allow workers to use their sick-day benefits to replace their lost wages for the first three days following an injury. Hence, injured workers bear some costs of workplace injuries, though not any costs associated with the waiting period. 

When eomparing outcome indicators related to HSE, it is also important to note differences in how they are defined and reported. For instance, what does reported injuries mean Do they only include injuries leading to absence from work, or all injuries Are serious accidents and fatal accidents included Does lost time injuries mean absence in three days or in more Is reporting voluntary or mandatory ... 

Accident statistics from other contractors operating principally marine plant are given in Table 3.4 and Table 3.5. This shows that the over-three-day incident rate is similar to the construction average with major accidents higher than the construction average. However, the latter is based on only a small number of incidents. 

Despite new legislation, improved information, education and training, accidents at work do still happen. An accident may be defined as an uncontrolled event causing injury or damage to an individual or property. An accident can nearly always be avoided if correct procedures and methods of working are followed. Any accident which results in an absence from work for more than three days or causes a major injury or death is notifiable to the HSE. There are more than 40,000 accidents reported to the HSE each year which occur as a result of some building-related activity. To avoid having an accident you should ... 

If the accident results in death, serious injury or an injury that leads to an absence from work of more than three days, your employer must report the accident to the local office of the HSE. The quickest way to do this is to call the Incident Control Centre on 0845 300 9923. They will require the following information ... 

An accident at work resulting in an over-three-day injury (that is, an employee being absent from work for over three days as a result of an accident at work) requires that accident report form F2508 be sent to the Local Authority within 10 days. 

In addition to the deaths, about 28,000 people have major accidents at work and about 130,000 people each year receive minor work-related injuries which keep them off work for more than three days. 

In 1997 a scientist at a nuclear research center in Russia placed a thin shell of copper on a sphCTe of highly enriched uranium-235. Suddenly, there was a huge burst of radiation, which turned the air hlue. Three days later, the scientist died of radiation damage. Explain what caused the accident. (Hint Copper is an effective metal for reflecting neutrons.)... 

Pearl Jones was admitted to the intensive-care unit alter a car accident with approximately 3 L of blood loss three days ago. She is semiconscious but irritable and has a blood pressure (BP) of 92/40 mm Hg, pulse (P) of 140 beats/minute, and respiration (R) of 38 breaths/minute, and her skin is cool and pale with pale mucous membranes. Arterial blood-gas analysis reveals a pH of 7.32, Pco of 33 mm Hg, of 70 percent, and HCO3 of 14 mEq/L. Urine output is 200 mL for the past 24 hours. Diagnostic tests ordered include an electrolyte panel (Na% K, CP, and CO ). What additional data would be beneficial to determine care measures for Ms. Jones ... 

However, for those accidents that have not caused major injury but which occasion more than three days incapacity for work, the injured person may enter a claim for industrial injury benefit with the DSS who will send the employer a form Bl 76 Figure 11.2). Normally benefit is paid only in respect of absences of more than three days duration but a claim following an absence of shorter duration may also be entered for an injury which in the long term could attract a degree of disability benefit. 

These are the most common of the hazards facing pedestrians and account for 30% of all the major accidents and 20% of over three-day injuries reported to the HSE each year. It has been estimated that the annual cost of these accidents to the nation is 750m with a direct cost to employers of 300m. The highest reported injuries are reported in the food and related industries. Slips and trips are the biggest single cause of reported injuries in the construction industry. There are over 1000 major injuries on construction sites each year. Older workers. 

The accident investigation should be used to generate recommendations but should also be used to generate safety awareness. The investigation report or a summary should therefore be circulated locally to relevant people and, when appropriate, summaries circulated throughout the organization. The accident does not need to have resulted in a three-day lost time injury for this system to be used. 

Over three-day lost time injury If there is an accident connected with work (including physical violence) and an employee, or self-employed person working on the premises, suffers an injury and is away from work or not doing their normal duties for more than three days (including weekends, rest days or holidays) but not counting the day of the accident, the responsible person must send a completed accident report form, F2508, to the enforcing authority within ten days. 

These Regulations require the reporting of specified accidents, ill-health and dangerous occurrences to the enforcing authorities. The events all arise out of or in connection with work activities covered by the HSW Act. They include death, major injury and more than three-day lost-time accidents. Schedules to the Regulations specify the details of cases of ill-health and dangerous occurrences. 

The accident investigation is initiated as soon as possible after the accident. The sooner the investigation begins the more effective it will be. Don t leave accident investigation to two or three days after the event because the facts would have become distorted and the witnesses may not remember as clearly as they did immediately after the accident... 

To show the importance of the manufacturing sector accidents, for accidents with more than three days of absence in the European Union and Norway in 2007, the latest incidence rate of the manufacturing sector published by Eurostat is 3,097 accidents per 100,000 workers. 

Work accident represents body injury and occupational acute poisoning that occur during the process of doing the work or service and which causes temporary inability to work for at least three days, disability or death ... 

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