ABSTRACT
In the United Kingdom 4,000 people die every year and at least three million are injured seriously enough to seek hospital medical attention, all due to accidents in the home and at leisure (DTI 1995). Accidents in the home account for far more medically treated injuries (including those also treated by GPs) than injuries at work and on the road combined (DTI 1995). In 1989 the European Commission estimated that there were 30,000 deaths and 40 million injuries annually across the then twelve member states (Falke 1989) and the cost of home and leisure accidents was then estimated to be 60 billion ECU (Rogmans 1989).
