There were over 100 people that were seriously hurt from tripping, falling or slipping on office furniture from a height, in workplaces, in the area of Reading alone during 2008.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have recently revealed figures that show 16 people of the 100 had not only sustained work related injuries, but have experience sustained injuries which has kept them off ill from work for a minimum of three days or more.

The Wokingham and West Berkshire and Wokingham areas seemed to fare a little better with 86 people injured from office furniture at a height in Berkshire and 55 casualties in Wokingham. Windsor saw 92 work related injuries and Maidenhead saw 90 people injured.

Work related injuries are slightly up on 2006/07 and they are estimated to have cost businesses across the UK £1.8million.

The recent and rather shocking statistics have spurred the launch of a national awareness campaign from HSE which is called Shattered Lives.

The campaign’s second phase of was launched this week and highlighted the dangers in the office to encourage all employers to take urgent action.

HSE head of the injury reduction promotion, Marcia Davies said:

“People often view slips, trips and falls as trivial incidents, even comical, but they are no joke to those who suffer major injuries, a lifetime of disability, time off work and, in the worst cases, death. We want to raise awareness of how these incidents can happen and how they can be easily avoided by taking common sense actions and precautions at no or little cost. If you spot a hazard in your workplace deal with it, don’t assume that somebody else will. The lives of workers and their families are shattered by the serious consequences of these types of accidents. Simple measures introduced by businesses can make a positive difference to safety in the workplace.”