The cost of accidents
Here is something think about:
A worker was using an unguarded drilling machine in a small engineering company employing 15 workers.
The sleeve of his jumper caught on the rotating drill, entangling his arm. Both bones in his lower arm were broken and he suffered extensive tissue and muscle injury. He spent 12 days in hospital undergoing major surgery and was off work for three months. On his return he was placed on administrative duties for five months and he was unable to operate machinery for eight months.
The managing director was prosecuted following the incident and the total costs to the business were around £45,000. Another cost was that two employees not involved in the accident were made redundant to prevent the company from going out of business. The injury was put down to the company Health and Safety Policies not ensuring the workers safety.
Here is a breakdown of the costs to the company:
- Wages for the injured worker over period £10,000
- Loss of production and remedial work required £8,000+
- Overtime wages to cover lost production £3,000+
- Wages for replacement worker £7,000+
- Loss of time of manager and managing director £4,000+
- Legal expenses £3,000
- Fines and court costs £4,000+
- Increase in employers’ liability insurance premiums £6,000
Total cost to business £45,000+
Source: www.hse.gov.uk/costs
