Lawyer’s Safety Call over ‘Staggering’ Workplace Death Toll

A leading workplace injury and accident lawyer says the fight for improved safety standards at work can never end while tens of thousands of UK workers are still dying each year. The call came as the TUC published figures claiming that around 20,000 people were still dying annually in accidents at work or as a result of industrial illnesses such as mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer. And Roger Maddocks, partner and expert in workplace injuries at the north east office of law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “It is both staggering and frightening to think that more than 20,000 people in the UK could still be dying each year for doing nothing more than turning up to work. “We are used to seeing the statistics broken down, to keep industrial illness separate from accidents, for example. This figure really drives home how vital it is to continue to push for improved levels of health and safety – no matter how high people may think standards have risen, the situation is clearly still not good enough. “We have repeatedly called for improvements in safety standards and will continue to campaign for the rights of the victims we represent – health and safety will never be off the agenda whist we continue to lose workers to incidents that could be avoided.” The TUC’s full report, The Case for Health and Safety, can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/the_case_for_health_and_safety.pdf

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