Fatal accidents in Swedish farming and forestry, 1988-1997

摘要

It has long been acknowledged that farm work is associated with accident risks. In this investigation it has been determined how these risks have changed over the past 10-year period, and how different factors have affected the risk pattern. All the registered accidents forming the basis for this study (ISA, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) were supplemented with information obtained from the Labor Inspectorate, police, Occupational Health Services, and in many cases, persons from the district having information about the accident. The number of fatal accidents occurring at work is decreasing in Sweden and in many other countries. This, however, is not true for Swedish farm and forestry operations. The frequency of fatal accidents is 11.6 per year per 100,000 persons among those with farming as a main occupation, and 13.6 among those with forestry as a main occupation, and the trend appears to be on the increase. In addition, a number of farmers, persons with other occupations, or senior citizens (mostly retired farmers) also meet with fatal accidents, primarily in forestry. Access or membership in occupational health schemes was lower than expected among the victims. Even among the employed forestry workers, only a minority had access. More than half of the accidents were due to either the victim or a fellow worker not following generally known rules or recommendations.