MOD workplace injuries 2019 – 2024: trends, risks and legal insights

Blog written by Hannah Baker, Associate in our Military team.

The Ministry of Defence has published a summary of health and safety statistics, covering the years 2019 – 2024. It provides an overview of workplace incidents, injuries and fatalities affecting UK Armed Forces personnel, MOD civilian employees and cadet forces. It does not include injuries suffered in combat. The report highlights key trends, including an increase in reported injuries, a higher risk of injury for female and untrained personnel and the prevalence of training-related incidents. The report also tracks “near-miss” incidents and dangerous occurrences, aiming to improve workplace safety across the MOD.

Why do MOD health and safety statistics matter?

MOD health and safety statistics are important for understanding workplace risks, injury trends and accident prevention within the UK Armed Forces. Between 2023 and 2024, there were 26,833 reported incidents in total which included injuries, cases of ill health, near misses and dangerous occurrences. There were also 3 deaths deemed to be health and safety related. The data highlights key areas of concern such as a high prevalence of training related injuries, higher risks for untrained personnel and disparities in rates of injury for males and females.

Tracking and analysing these statistics helps the MOD to identify any failures in training and safety measures, improve risk management and to implement stronger protective measures for military personnel. Additionally, there are legal implications for the MOD because it must comply with relevant health and safety legislation, and it has a duty of care toward both personnel and employed civilians. Injured individuals may have grounds for a personal injury claim if the MOD has not complied with the legislation or if it has been negligent. The statistics help to ensure transparency and accountability and will hopefully help in safeguarding personnel and reducing workplace hazards.

What do the 2023/2024 MOD health and safety statistics reveal about workplace incidents in the Armed Forces?

Overall, there were 26,833 incidents in total, with 15,288 injuries reported and a further 10,336 “near misses”. Near miss incidents are defined as events that didn’t actually cause harm, but had the potential to cause death, injury, damage or ill health had there not been timely intervention. Examples of near miss incidents include damage to equipment, fuel spills and trip hazards.

13% of reported injuries were classed as “specified” or serious injuries, which include fractures, amputations, loss of sight, crush injuries, serious burns and loss of consciousness, and other injuries which result in personnel being unable to work normally for more than 7 days.

In addition to these figures, there were an additional 994 cases of ill health and 186 cases of “dangerous occurrence”, such as fires and explosions caused by electrical faults, the failure of breathing apparatus or collapsing scaffolding.  There were a further 3 safety-related deaths reported in 2023/2024, and 18 deaths in total over the last 5 years. The majority of deaths were caused by land transport accidents and personal training.

According to the UK defence personnel statistics, Rates of injury were much higher in the Army than in the Navy or RAF, but that is perhaps unsurprising given that the majority of UK Armed Forces personnel serve in the Army, with the remainder split equally between the Royal Navy / Royal Marines and the RAF.

For Regular personnel, the main causes of injury were training and exercises (58%), followed by sport and recreation (25%).

What are the trends in health and safety incidents over time?

The MOD’s summary shows that the injury rate has increased over the 5 years from 2019 to 2024 for serving personnel, from 43 to 69 per 1,000 personnel. The MOD notes this is likely to be due to a normal return to activity levels following the COVID pandemic, as well as the introduction of a new safety reporting system launched by the MOD in January 2022.

In contrast, injury rates for MOD civilian employees and cadet forces have decreased, from 29 to 20 and 20 to 7 per 1,000 personnel, respectively.

Untrained personnel have a significantly higher injury rate than trained personnel, which is possibly due to adapting to the challenges of the intense physical training that military personnel must undergo.

Though the increase in health and safety incidents may be due to better reporting systems, the figures demonstrate that there are still ongoing challenges surrounding injury prevention, particularly in training and exercise environments. The rise in reported injuries may signal the need for better safety measures and adjustments to training protocols.

Are female personnel at more risk of injury than male personnel?

According to the MOD’s summary, female personnel consistently report higher injury rates across all branches of the Armed Forces.  This may be due to both physiological differences, and training methods that do not fully accommodate gender-specific risks.

An interim report on the Health Risks to Women in Ground Close Combat Roles, published by the MOD in 2016, found that while musculoskeletal injuries were the most common cause of downgrading and medical discharge for both men and women, the risk of MSK injuries occurring in initial Army training was 2 times higher for females than males, and females were 3 times more likely to suffer a stress fracture and 10 times more likely to suffer a stress fracture of the hip than men. Additionally, women who returned to service postpartum lost more working days to MSK injuries; the 2016 report notes that skeletal health takes longer to recover after giving birth, increasing the risk of MSK injuries to women.

What are the legal rights of personnel or MOD civilians who are injured at work?

The MOD has a common law duty of care towards all serving personnel and civilian employees. This means that it has a legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid acts, or omissions, that could foreseeably cause harm to others. The MOD must also comply with relevant health and safety legislation that is in place to protect employees, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It is generally accepted that personnel serving in HM Armed Forces are exposed to greater risks than in civilian employment. However, this does not absolve the MOD of its duty to make sure that personnel can train and operate in an environment that is as safe as practicable.

Can personnel bring a civil claim or an AFCS claim for injuries suffered in service?

If the MOD has done, or omitted to do, something that has caused harm to an individual, and that harm was foreseeable, then the individual may be able to bring a civil claim for personal injury and financial loss suffered as a result. Examples may include injuries suffered due to faulty equipment that hasn’t been maintained properly, hazards that should have been properly identified or not providing adequate and appropriate training for personnel or civilian staff.

To be successful in bringing a civil claim for compensation, the claimant must first prove on the balance of probabilities that the MOD breached its duty of care to the claimant, either under the common law of negligence, or because it did not comply with statutory requirements as set out in legislation. This means that if the claimant suffers an injury due to a freak accident that could not have been prevented and was not foreseeable, it is unlikely that the claimant would be able to establish that the MOD has breached its duty of care and the claim would likely fail.

In the situation that a claimant cannot establish that the MOD has breached its duty of care, they may still be able to bring a claim under the War Pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. Injuries sustained before 6 April 2005 are considered under the WPS, and any injuries sustained on, or after, 6 April 2005 are considered under the AFCS. These schemes are both “no fault liability” schemes, which means that the claimant doesn’t need to prove that the MOD are at fault for their injury – they must only show that their injury has been caused by service, whether that be in training, organised sport or the normal course of duties.

The AFCS does not generally compensate for slips, trips and falls, or for road traffic accidents suffered while commuting to or from the individual’s normal place of work.

Claimants can bring both a civil claim and an AFCS claim at the same time, though any compensation already received will be taken into account when the second claim concludes.

It is also possible for dependents to bring civil and AFCS claims for death caused by service.

How much compensation could Armed Forces personnel get if they are injured in service?

The principle behind civil damages is to put the claimant back in the position they would have been in, had they not suffered the injury. This means that a claimant can claim compensation for the injury itself (sometimes referred to as general damages, or damages for “pain, suffering and loss of amenity”), the cost of any treatment or equipment they have had to purchase because of the injury and any loss in earnings they may have suffered as a result. It is also important to note that the claimant has a duty to mitigate their losses.

Under the AFCS, compensation is assessed through a tariff system. A claimant must prove that they meet a set descriptor for their injury, which is then matched with a tariff between 1 (£650,000) and 15 (£1,236).  The tariff amount is paid as a lump sum and a Guaranteed Income Payment is also paid on a monthly basis for injuries assessed at tariff 11 or above.

AFCS fast payments can be made for the most serious injuries (tariffs 1 – 8), but only if the injury was sustained on or after 9 May 2011. Fast payments are designed to provide financial assistance as soon as possible and to aid with the cost of treatment or income if the individual is unable to work or loses their job as a result of the injury.

What are the time limits for claims against the MOD?

The time limit for making a civil claim is 3 years from the date of the accident, or the date that the claimant becomes aware of their injury and that the MOD is responsible for it. This is usually referred to as the claimant’s “date of knowledge”. It is sometimes possible to bring a claim outside of the 3-year time limit, but the claimant must generally ask the court for permission to rely on Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 and the court may refuse permission. The time limit for bringing a civil claim for a fatal accident is 3 years from the date of death.

For AFCS claims, the time limit is generally 7 years from the date of the injury, but there are some exceptions. Time limits under the AFCS are strictly applied and there is no mechanism for the body that administers the scheme to disapply the time limits.

It is therefore very important to seek legal advice as soon as possible, to ensure that time limits for claiming are not missed.