Occurrences rather than registrations

It is possible to analyse data on the basis of either year of occurrence or year of registration of death. Registrations of injury deaths are subject to delay in the case of those requiring an inquest to investigate the cause of death, and this can sometimes amount to a considerable time following the year in which the death occurred. Northern Ireland appears to be particularly affected by delays, with only a third (31%) of injury deaths registered in the same year and 5% registered four or more years after the year of occurrence. In England, nearly two thirds (64%) are registered within the same year, with just 0.3% registered four or more years later. However, there has also been a noticeable year on year gradual increase in the length of registration delays in England.

We have based our analyses on year of occurrence in an attempt to represent the true burden of injuries in any year. For completeness sake, we have to allow for several years of backlog. This means that the data analysis appears rather dated. However, the main findings are still valuable. For Northern Ireland, 2002 year of occurrence has been substituted for 2003 activity. It is estimated that this will be 95% complete and is based on 2005 registration data which was released in 2007.