More accidents at school and on the way to school again

Almost 400,000 reportable occupational accidents occurred in the first half of 2022. This is a minimal increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the same period last year. In contrast, there was a significant increase in reportable school accidents. This is the result of preliminary figures published by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

"At first glance, the increase in reportable accidents at school and on the way to school seems spectacular," says Dr Stefan Hussy, Chief Executive of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV). "But the current figures are still slightly below the values we saw in the years before the Corona pandemic. So we are probably seeing the effect of a normalisation in school operations after the closures of many educational institutions."

Reportable accidents on the way to school increased by about 130 per cent to just over 39,000. 14 insured persons died in accidents on the way to and from school, which is 6 more than in the same period last year. The number of new accident annuities, on the other hand, fell by 24 per cent to 249 cases.

Reportable accidents on the way to work and back home from work fell by more than 8 per cent to almost 80,000 accidents. The number of fatal accidents at work and on the way to and from work also fell: by 46 to 255. New accident pensions fell by a good 15 per cent overall to 6899. A pension payment is an indication that an accident at work or on the way to or from work had serious consequences.

Occupational diseases

The first half of 2022 reflects the continuing high burden of disease caused by the Corona pandemic. Berufsgenossenschaften and Unfallkassen, the statutory accident insurance institutions, received almost 40 per cent more reports of an occupational disease than in the same period last year. A total of 215,000 notifications were made, more than 175,000 of which concerned COVID-19.

A good 86,000 occupational diseases were recognised in the first half of 2022, of which a good 75,000 concerned COVID-19. In a good 52,000 cases, the suspicion of an occupational disease was not confirmed, including 33,000 cases of COVID-19.

Background: School accident insurance

Children and adolescents are legally insured against accidents when attending day-care facilities or schools and on the necessary routes. The so-called schoolchildren's accident insurance also covers students attending higher education institutions. The responsible institution is the respective regional accident insurance fund. The insurance cover is free of charge for the insured. The contributions are paid by the public sector.