Stumbling, dust, chips
On average, every 15th full-time employee in Switzerland suffers an accident at work every year. The new five-year report of the accident insurers provides a comprehensive overview of accident occurrence in Switzerland.
More than one in four accident victims is hit by an object while at work; for example, because an employee accidentally hits the accident victim with a tool or drops something. This is also shown in the recently published five-year report of the accident statistics 2008-2012 from the collection point for the statistics of the accident insurance UVG (SSUV), which is located at Suva. In total, an average of 254,000 people were involved in accidents at work each year throughout Switzerland during this period; of these, 67,000 (26 %) were hit by an object. This makes it the most common cause of accidents.
With 65,000 persons, almost every fourth accident victim slips or falls. 24 % of these tripping accidents occur without an object involved, 20 % on stairs and in ten percent the victim is carrying a load. In eight percent, the weather plays a decisive role.
Accident victims cut or stab themselves third most often, mostly on the hand or arm. Almost half of these people cut themselves with a knife.
Although less than four percent of all occupational accidents are considered serious, they cause not only great human suffering but also two-thirds of the annual insurance benefits of just under CHF 1.4 billion. Slipping and falling is the most frequent cause of serious accidents, accounting for 46 %. The second most common cause of these accidents is falling - this happens mainly from ladders and scaffolding, and often the accident victims are carrying heavy loads. Falling accidents also frequently occur when workers are loading and unloading trucks with lifting platforms.
Here you can find the detailed Five-Year Report UVG 2008-2012 as PDF.
