Workplace injuries in Latvia are still mistakenly seen purely as a “problem of high-risk industries”, common in logging, construction or woodworking. In fact, both minor and very serious injuries at work are sustained by doctors, police officers, cleaners, cooks and members of many other professions, and this does not always happen while they are carrying out their direct work duties, according to a summary compiled by the insurance company BALTA. The severity of the injuries varies – from minor wounds to serious polytrauma, amputations and at least 25 fatal cases every year.
28 April is International Workers' Memorial Day, and the situation in Latvia remains worrying – according to Eurostat data, the number of fatal accidents at workplaces per 100,000 employees is roughly twice the European average1.
This trend is also clearly reflected in data from the State Labour Inspectorate (VDI) – at least 25 people lose their lives at work in Latvia every year, and in total 142 fatal accidents at work were recorded between 2020 and 2024, nine of which are also included in BALTA's statistics.
The most serious injuries involve machinery, outdoor work and working at height
Injuries at work are most often sustained in sectors such as joinery, manual woodworking, logging, metalworking and construction. “The most serious injuries usually occur in situations where an employee is working with specialised machinery, or where the work takes place outdoors and at height,” notes Linda Juhna, Head of the Personal Insurance Claims Department at BALTA.
“While working in the forest, I was changing the chain on a harvester and tore open the palm of my left hand, which had to be stitched”, “at work I fell on an icy surface”, “I caught myself on a metal part, which cut my right thigh over a length of six centimetres” – these are just a few examples of injuries sustained at work in hazardous industries that have been recorded by BALTA.
The insurer's experience shows that, overall, the most frequent injuries at work are wounds of various kinds, as well as bruises and fractures of the fingers, sprains, tendon damage and torn-off nails.
Workplace injuries in “safe” professions too – from doctors to cleaners
However, injuries at work are also sustained by members of professions whose daily routine is considered relatively safe. For example, one doctor pierced a finger in the operating theatre after cutting themselves with a scalpel, while a veterinary clinic employee was scratched by a sick cat and the wound caused an infection, as a result of which the injured person later needed the help of a surgeon. A cleaner at a sports centre, meanwhile, caught their foot on a step while cleaning the stands and injured their leg. In another case, a caretaker clearing snow in the grounds of a nursery slipped, fell and broke an arm, after which a lengthy recovery was needed.
“We also receive claims where people are injured during working hours in ways that are not directly related to their work duties. For example, a cook and a police officer were injured while going up stairs, in separate unrelated incidents,” says L. Juhna. Insurance payouts in such cases range from a couple of hundred to several thousand euros, depending on the severity of the injury and the insurance cover chosen.
Firefighters and builders are injured less often, but more seriously
Different sectors have their own typical workplace injuries. Welding, for example, is characterised by eye injuries or burns to the mucous membrane of the eyeball, while in joinery and woodworking fingers are often injured and various minor injuries sustained. Work in the police, the State Fire and Rescue Service and construction, meanwhile, is often associated with rarer but far more serious injuries, as well as a higher risk of death and disability, L. Juhna explains.
This year BALTA has already paid out more than 13 thousand euros in compensation for workplace injuries, covering 90 workplace injury claims in total. Last year, meanwhile, more than 126 thousand euros were paid out, and in 2024 the amount of compensation paid exceeded 186 thousand euros.