Work accident

{{short description|Occurrence during work that leads to physical or mental harm}} [[File:En såret arbejder (Henningsen).jpg|thumb|Erik Henningsen's painting ''A wounded worker'' from the National Gallery of Denmark]] [[File:Cave-in (indust).jpg|thumb|A 19th century work accident in a mine]] A '''work accident''', '''workplace accident''', '''occupational accident''', or '''accident at work''' is a "discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/ESAW_2001_EN.pdf|title=European Commission, ''European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW)'', Methodology, 2001}}</ref> According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 337 million accidents happen on the job each year, resulting, together with occupational diseases, in more than 2.3 million deaths annually.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm|title=Safety and health at work|website=www.ilo.org}}</ref>

The phrase "in the course of work" can include work-related accidents happening off the company's premises, and can include accidents caused by third parties, according to Eurostat. The definition of work accident includes accidents occurring "while engaged in an economic activity, or at work, or carrying on the business of the employer" according to the ILO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ILOSTAT: Volume 8: Occupational injuries (E) |url=https://webapps.ilo.org/ilostat-files/SSM/SSM8/E/ANNEX.html |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=webapps.ilo.org}}</ref>

The phrase "physical or mental harm" means any injury, disease, or death. Occupational accidents differ from occupational diseases as accidents are unexpected and unplanned occurrences (e.g., mine collapse), while occupational diseases are "contracted as a result of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors arising from work activity" (e.g., miner's lung).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@integration/@stat/documents/normativeinstrument/wcms_087528.pdf|title=The Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians, Resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries (resulting from occupational accidents), adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians, (October 1998)|website=ilo.org}}</ref>

Incidents that fall within the definition of occupational accidents include cases of acute poisoning, attacks by humans and animals, insects etc., slips and falls on pavements or staircases, traffic collisions, and accidents on board means of transportation in the course of work, accidents in airports, stations and so on.

There is no consensus as to whether commuting accidents (i.e. accidents on the way to work and while returning home after work) should be considered to be work accidents. The ESAW methodology excludes them; the ILO includes them in its conventions concerning health & safety at work, although it lists them as a separate category of accidents;<ref>{{cite web |title=Protocol of 2002 to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 |url=http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?P155 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120184705/http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?P155 |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |website=ilo.org}}</ref> and some countries (e.g., Greece) do not distinguish them from other work accidents.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elinyae Eongress 2010 |url=http://www.elinyaecongress2010.gr/02.proforikes/pa070.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125074833/http://www.elinyaecongress2010.gr/02.proforikes/pa070.pdf |archive-date=November 25, 2011 |website=www.elinyaecongress2010.gr |access-date=May 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A fatal accident at work is defined as an accident which leads to the death of a victim. The time within which the death may occur varies among countries: in Netherlands an accident is registered as fatal if the victim dies during the same day that the accident happened, in Germany if death came within 30 days, while Belgium, France and Greece set no time limit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://osha.europa.eu/en/faq/faq1/what-is-an-accident-at-work|title=Tools and publications - Safety and health at work - EU-OSHA|website=osha.europa.eu}}</ref>

Where the accidents involve multiple fatalities, they are often referred to as industrial disasters.

==Statistics== There are some industries in which individuals are more exposed to occupational hazards than others, such as the construction trade. This had the highest rate of fatal injuries out of all other industry sections in Europe in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Accidents at work statistics|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Accidents_at_work_statistics|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=2025-11-27|language=en}}</ref> In UK, falls accounted for 51% of construction injuries resulting in death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction/construction.pdf|title=Health and safety statistics for the construction sector in Great Britain, 2017|website=www.hse.gov.uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827100814/https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction/construction.pdf}}</ref>

The Health and Safety Executive reported that, between 2011 and 2012, incidents such as falls from height, becoming trapped by a falling structure, and being struck by a vehicle or moving object, were the reasons for the majority of fatalities to British workers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.htm |title=Kinds of accident |website=www.hse.gov.uk |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325164056/http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.htm}}</ref>

It was also revealed that slips, trips or falls were responsible for more than 50% of serious injuries to employees. Furthermore, the majority of incidents that resulted in employees taking more than three days off work – or affected their ability to perform their usual duties over this period – were caused by handling accidents.

Although some accidents at work can have minor effects, the cumulative impact of workplace injuries is significant, translating into an estimated loss of 70 million lost days of work and approximately 540 million days of lost production time in the U.S., in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Worker Off-the-Job Safety |url=https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/work-overview/worker-off-the-job-safety/ |website=Injury Facts |publisher=National Safety Council |access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref>

In Europe, France has the higher rate of fatal and non-fatal accident at work.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Accidents at work statistics|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Accidents_at_work_statistics|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=2025-11-27|language=en}}</ref>

==Causal factors== [[File:ladder skid mark.jpg|thumb|300px|Skid mark from a faulty ladder.]] Accidents arise from unsafe behavior and/or unsafe conditions. An important factor is the safety climate or safety culture of an organization. Safety culture concerns how workplace safety is managed, consisting of the shared attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and values among employees.<ref>Cox, S. & Cox, T. (1991) The structure of employee attitudes to safety - a European example Work and Stress, 5, 93 - 106.</ref> Faulty equipment can also cause serious personal injuries, a common example being accidents from faulty ladders. If the rubber feet are absent, the base of the aluminium stile can slip suddenly on a hard floor and the user can fall.

==Benefits of prevention== [[File:Danger! Crush Points.jpg|thumb|Health and safety warning sign]] According to the Health and Safety Executive,<ref>{{cite web |title=Benefits and costs: Leading health and safety at work |url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/benefits.htm |website=Health and Safety Executive}}</ref> employers who implement suitable measures to prevent accidents in the workplace could reap a number of benefits. As well as reducing the number of injuries at work, managers could also: * Be less likely to suffer legal action * Acquire a better reputation amongst partners, investors, customers and suppliers * Have employees who feel more motivated, demonstrating greater productivity * Reduce costs * Have reduced employee turnover and absence rates. It has been reported that over 2,000,000 working days each year are lost due to handling accidents and slips and trips alone. In Argentina, the work accident rate in the year 2018 decreased 10% from the previous year.<ref>{{cite web |author=estudiomma |date=2019-07-19 |title=Accidente de Trabajo in Itinere O No | Art |url=https://estudiomma.com.ar/accidente-de-trabajo-in-itinere/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825195734/https://estudiomma.com.ar/accidente-de-trabajo-in-itinere/ |archive-date=August 25, 2019 |website=abogados online}}</ref>

== Determining liability == Depending on the circumstances of a workplace accident, several different parties may be held liable. These may include the employer, employees, property owner, manufacturer, or other third parties. For example, if it can be proven that an employer was negligent by allowing unsafe working conditions to persist, they may be held responsible for any resulting accidents or injuries. But most of the time employers enjoy impunity. In France they don't go to jail even when they are convicted of Negligent homicide, 75% of them got suspended prison terms and only 1.6% actually go to jail.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Opportunités et limites du recours au droit pénal en matière de protection de la santé et de la sécurité au travail|url=https://theses.hal.science/tel-02526287|publisher=Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I|date=2019-11-12|degree=phdthesis|language=fr|first=Aurélie|last=Salon}}</ref> This can be explained by the system for compensating workplace accidents and occupational diseases that exist in this country, which make individual responsibility less important since damages are compensated by the collective.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Impunités patronales|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2024/12/EYCHENNE/67843|website=Le Monde diplomatique|date=2024-12-01|access-date=2025-11-27|language=fr|first=Alexia|last=Eychenne}}</ref>

==Examples== Phineas Gage was a railroad worker who suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to an accident in 1848. While using an iron rod to pack explosive powder into a hole, a spark from the rod ignited the powder, which drove the rod through his skull, destroying most of his left frontal lobe. He survived the accident and became an important case study in the field of neuroscience.<ref>Haas, L. "Phineas Gage and the science of brain localisation." Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 71, no. 6 (2001): 761.</ref>

In 1974, 18-year-old Disneyland employee Deborah Gail Stone was killed by the apparatus of the America Sings attraction, barely a week after the attraction had opened. She accidentally fell into the narrow gap between the central stage and the revolving inner wall of the seating area, and was crushed to death by the movement of the carousel. Stone's family successfully sued Disneyland and the attraction was temporarily closed while new safety features were implemented, eventually shutting down permanently in 1988.<ref>Jeff Abraham, Burt Kearns: ''The Show Won't Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage'' (2019). Chicago Review Press</ref>

In 1979, American factory worker Robert Williams reported to work at a Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Michigan. Williams was one of the operators of the factory's robotic retrieval system, which took parts to and from racks on a large shelving unit. He was instructed to retrieve some parts manually from the storage rack, reportedly because the machine was running too slowly due to an undiagnosed malfunction. When the still operating robot entered the area of shelving he was in, a protruding arm smashed into his head, killing him instantly. He was the first person known to have been killed by a robot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/first-killer-robot-was-around-back-in-1979.htm|title=The First 'Killer Robot' Was Around Back in 1979|publisher=howstuffworks|author=Bryan Young}}</ref> In a similar incident, a 22-year-old contractor was killed in 2015 at a Volkswagen production plant in Baunatal, Germany. While he was setting up a stationary industrial robot meant to grab and manipulate automobile components, the robot arm prematurely activated, grabbing him and crushing him against a metal plate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/02/robot-kills-worker-at-volkswagen-plant-in-germany|title=Robot kills worker at Volkswagen plant in Germany|publisher=The Guardian|date=2 Jul 2015}}</ref>

===Film and entertainment industry=== There were a few accidents during the production of the ''Lord of the Rings'' film series. In one scene, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) kicks a heavy metal helmet toward the camera and cries out in frustration, believing Merry and Pippin dead. Mortensen had in fact broken two of his toes from the impact and had cried out in pain; this was the take used in the final film.<ref>{{cite video |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers "Appendices"| medium=DVD| publisher=New Line Cinema| date=2003}}</ref> In another scene, Sam (Sean Astin) wades into a river barefoot in pursuit of Frodo. On one take Astin impaled his foot on a shard of glass, despite the prior efforts of the production crew to sweep the riverbed.<ref name="fellowship">{{cite video |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Appendices|medium=DVD|publisher=New Line Cinema |year=2002}}</ref> Also for a scene in the film, a serious accident was narrowly averted, when Aragorn battles Uruk-Hai leader Lurtz (portrayed by stuntman Lawrence Makoare), and Lurtz throws a knife at Aragorn. Makoare was supposed to miss on purpose, but the poor visibility afforded by the mask he had to wear caused him to misjudge his aim and accidentally throw the knife straight at Mortensen's face. Mortensen instinctively deflected the knife with his own sword, and this shot is included in the final cut.<ref name="fellowship"></ref>

In 2009, stuntman David Holmes was paralysed while serving as Daniel Radcliffe's body double for a scene in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''. The stunt involved the use of suspension wires to simulate Harry being thrown around during a fight and crashing into a wall. A fault with the pulley system caused Holmes to crash into the wall at an uncontrolled speed and break his neck, leaving him quadriplegic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/11/harry-potter-stunt-double-david-holmes-interview|title=Harry Potter’s stunt double: ‘Breaking my neck made a man of me’|publisher=The Guardian|author=Simon Hattenstone|date=11 November 2023}}</ref>

During the 2015 shooting of the movie ''Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'', stuntwoman Olivia Jackson had her arm amputated after her motorbike crashed into a metal camera arm during a high-speed chase.<ref name="oliviajackson"> {{cite web |last=Wareing |first=Charlotte |date=2015-12-21 |title=Star Wars stunt double reveals she will lose an arm after horrific accident on Resident Evil set |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/star-wars-stunt-double-reveals-7050708 |website=Daily Mirror}}</ref>

Matilda Rapaport died from an avalanche while filming an advertisement for the 2016 video game ''Steep''.<ref> {{cite web |last=Makuch |first=Eddie |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Pro Skier Dies During Film Shoot for Ubisoft's New Game Steep |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pro-skier-dies-during-film-shoot-for-ubisofts-new-/1100-6441963/}} </ref>

In 2021 cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the film ''Rust'' when a live bullet was fired from a revolver that actor Alec Baldwin was using as a prop. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64824526|title=Rust trial: How events unfolded after fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set|date=15 July 2024|author=Helen Bushby|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

==References== {{Commons category}} {{reflist|33em}}

+ Category:Occupational hazards