Fatal accident at work in Dornbirn: colleague crushed by plates!

Fatal accident at work in Dornbirn: colleague crushed by plates!

On May 19, 2025, a tragic industrial accident occurred in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, in which a 44-year-old worker died. The incident occurred on a commercial premises while the man was carrying out sorting activities with heavy natural stone slabs. How 5min.at Reportedly, several plates suddenly came loose and fell onto the worker, who was then crushed.

The man's colleagues reacted quickly and lifted the heavy plates to free him. Despite the resuscitation measures that were immediately initiated by the rescue workers and the emergency doctor, these were unfortunately unsuccessful. The police have investigated, but have so far found no evidence of foul play. In addition, the labor inspectorate has initiated investigations into the case.

Obligations of employers and accident statistics

Accidents in the workplace are not only tragic, they also raise questions about safety standards. Loud Arbeitsinspektion.gv.at Employers are legally obliged to report serious and fatal accidents at work immediately to the labor inspectorate or the police. Further duties include reporting to the accident insurance provider, keeping records and preparing reports and making adjustments to risk assessments.

The accident statistics in Austria show that progress has been made in accident prevention in recent years. The number of workplace accidents fell from 103,487 in 2004 to 88,275 in 2017, which corresponds to a reduction of around 15%. This improvement is due to increased awareness of safety culture and better safety regulations.

Background on industrial accidents in the EU

The incident in Dornbirn is part of a larger problem that can be observed across Europe. Every year, almost 5,500 people in the EU die in workplace accidents, which leads to direct insurance costs of around 20 billion euros, according to this Arbeitsinspektion.gv.at. In addition, an estimated 149 million working days are lost due to workplace accidents, which has significant economic consequences.

The majority of accidents could have been prevented through appropriate operational measures. Inadequate work preparation, time pressure and organizational deficiencies are among the most common causes. The analysis of work accidents shows that accident-promoting behavior and a lack of information about safety regulations are often also factors.

The fatal accident at work in Dornbirn reminds companies and employees to take the importance of occupational safety seriously and to continuously improve it in order to prevent further tragic incidents.