WorkSafe Victoria figures show almost 26,000 people injured in workplace accidents in 2016

ALMOST 26,000 Victorian workers were seriously injured and 26 people died on the job last year, new figures have revealed.

Almost 26,000 people were injured in workplace accidents in Victoria last year.

ALMOST 26,000 Victorian workers were seriously injured and 26 people died on the job last year.

The latest figures from WorkSafe show 25,861 people were injured badly enough to make a claim against their workplace in 2016.

Manufacturing (4174 claims), health care and social assistance (3919) and construction (3284) were the industry sectors with the highest number of claims made during that period.

More than 8000 of the claims made related to musculoskeletal injuries, followed by muscle or tendon injuries (4881 claims) and lacerations or amputations (3367).

The main causes of injury were poor manual handling (9670 claims), slips, trips or falls (5697) and being hit by a moving object (3932).

Figures released by local government area show the most claims last year were made regarding workplaces in the City of Melbourne (2106), followed by Greater Dandenong (1517) and Hume (1409).

Since 2011 there has been a 12.5 per cent drop in injury claims — from 29,567 to 25,861 last year.

WorkSafe chief executive Clare Amies said while injury claims were down, the number of Victorians killed at work, which the authority revealed in January, was totally unacceptable.

“Last year, 26 people lost their lives at work and the youngest was just 21,” she said.

WorkSafe CEO Claire Amies.

“No worker should lose their life simply because they were doing their job.”

Ms Amies said the decrease in claims was heartening, and more workplaces were making a commitment to safety, but more needed to be done.

“Safety at work is everyone’s responsibility and there are almost 26,000 reasons why we all need to do more to educate, inform and, where necessary, enforce good safety practices at work,” Ms Amies said.

She is calling on people to enter the 2017 WorkSafe Victoria Awards to honour businesses and individuals who have shown excellence in health and safety at work.

“Their work deserves encouragement and recognition, and we hope that by promoting their ideas and passion, WorkSafe can inspire other workplaces to do the same,” Ms Amies said.

Entries close on May 31.

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Gavin La’s hand was severed in a workplace accident. Picture: David Smith

GAVIN La’s life changed in an instant after he lost his right hand in a workplace incident.

A forklift and machine operator for 12 years, his dominant hand was severed at the wrist when it became caught in machinery at a recycling plant in October 2014.

The Sunshine North man had to learn how to write again — this time with his left hand — and his wife stopped working to help look after him.

Losing his hand also affected him psychologically.

“It does make me angry and frustrated that I can’t work — I feel useless sometimes as I can’t do a lot of things I used to do,” Mr La, 39, said.

He has a prosthetic right hand but it is not functional and wearing the socket for long periods of time caused irritation on the skin underneath.

His family of four became dependent on his insurance payments, which were recently terminated when medical advice to his former employer’s insurer said Mr La had the capacity to find alternative work.

The insurer did not reverse this decision at conciliation last month, so proceedings will soon be issued in the Magistrates’ Court with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers representing Mr La.

WorkSafe is also prosecuting Mr La’s former employer as a result of his injury, with the matter due to front Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court in May.