Pictured above: Philip Edwards
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.
Philip Edwards, partner and expert in workplace injuries at the
Midlands' 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:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/the_case_for_health_and_safety.pdf