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Up to 300 A&E Visits Every Week from DIY Injuries
Britain is a nation of home improvers. An estimated 64% of UK adults undertake some form of DIY or home improvement every year. And each year, an estimated 300 people arrive at A&E every week having injured themselves in the process — with falls from ladders, power tool injuries, and cuts from hand tools the dominant causes.
Of those who undertake DIY in a year, approximately 1 in 6 (17%) cause injury to themselves. Of those injured, 26% have to visit A&E; a further 5% require an ambulance. DIY injuries are estimated to cost the NHS approximately £222 million per year in hospital visits alone — not including the long-term costs of serious injuries, time off work, and reduced productivity.
Key Facts & Figures (Overview)
- Up to 300 people attend A&E every week in the UK following DIY-related injuries (estimated)
- 64% of UK adults undertook DIY or home improvement in the past year; of those, approximately 1 in 6 (17%) were injured
- Of those injured in DIY: 26% had to attend A&E; 5% required an ambulance
- DIY injuries are estimated to cost the NHS approximately £222 million per year in hospital visits
- 12% of DIY injury victims sustained long-term damage; 6% were unable to return to work for at least a year
- 60% of DIY injury victims missed at least one day of work — the average being three days
- Falls are the leading cause of DIY-related injuries — and the leading cause of all home accident deaths
- RoSPA estimates approximately 6,000 people per year are hospitalised in the UK from ladder-related accidents at home
- Approximately 48,000 people per year attend hospital A&E departments following a ladder accident in and around the home
- Falls from ladders account for almost a third of all injuries in the UK involving work at height (HSE)
- The top 5 causes of DIY injuries: falls; stair/floor incidents; power tools; hand tools; ladders and stools
- Power tools, ladders, and general tools are the three most common sources of DIY injuries (MyJobQuote research)
- Approximately 29,000 people were admitted to hospital after working with planks of wood in one year; 41,000 injured falling off ladders; and 5,800 seriously hurt by hammers
- The Ladder Association (May 2024): consumers who bought telescopic ladders from online platforms like Amazon or eBay were twice as likely to experience an accident compared to those who bought from reputable DIY retailers
- More than 20% of domestic ladder falls happen during painting and decorating
The Ladder Problem
Ladders are the single most significant cause of DIY hospitalisation. RoSPA estimates 6,000 hospitalisations per year from home ladder accidents; other figures suggest 48,000 A&E attendances. The dominant causes are:
- Overreaching: Stretching beyond the ladder's safe operating zone destabilises the top of the ladder
- Insecure base: Placing ladders on soft, uneven, or slippery ground without stabilisation
- Wrong ladder for the task: Using a stepladder for a task requiring a standing ladder, or vice versa
- Poor footwear: Shoes without grip increasing slip risk on rungs
- Ladder substitution: Using chairs, stools, boxes, or wheelie bins as substitutes — a leading cause of serious falls identified by RoSPA
- Untested quality: Online marketplace purchases of telescopic ladders that have not been verified against EN131 certification standards
Power Tool Injuries
Power tools — angle grinders, circular saws, reciprocating saws, drills, nail guns — cause significant and sometimes catastrophic injuries in DIY settings. The HSE estimates approximately 40,000 injuries are caused by machine-operated tools per year across work and home settings. Key risks include:
- Kickback on saws and grinders causing uncontrolled contact with the blade
- Eye injuries from fragments and sparks (the second most common cause of power tool injury)
- Hand injuries from slippage during cutting operations
- Electric shock from damaged cables or use in damp conditions
Electrical DIY Risks
DIY electrical work — replacing sockets, fitting light fixtures, extending circuits — carries specific risks that are distinct from other DIY activities. In England and Wales, most fixed wiring work must be carried out by a qualified electrician and notified under Building Regulations Part P, unless it falls into specific permitted categories. Nevertheless, many homeowners carry out electrical work without compliance — with results ranging from incorrect installation to fatal electrocution.
In 2017/18, 315 people suffered serious injuries while carrying out electrical work. A voltage as low as 50 volts can cause serious injuries if the current passes through vital organs — with as little as 100 milliamps being potentially fatal depending on the current path.
Written by CPD Experts
This guide was produced by the team at Online CPD Academy, a UK provider of CPD-accredited online training courses. Our health and safety training covers manual handling, work at height, tool safety, and risk assessment relevant to both workplace and domestic settings.
Sources & References
- RoSPA – Safer Lives, Stronger Nation: Our Call for a National Accident Prevention Strategy (November 2024) – https://www.rospa.com/health-and-safety-news/accident-prevention-report
- RoSPA – Home Safety – https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice-and-information/diy
- PHPI Online / MyJobQuote – DIY Accidents Costing the NHS £222m a Year in Hospital Visits – https://phpionline.co.uk/news/diy-accidents-costing-nhs-222m-year-hospital-visits/
- Lifting Equipment Store – Falls from Height: What UK Statistics Tell Us About Home & Workplace Safety – https://liftingequipmentstore.com/blogs/blog/falls-from-height-what-uk-statistics-tell-us-about-home-workplace-safety
