Cyclic dynamics of prevention spending and occupational injuries in Germany: 1886-2009

The history of German Social Accident Insurance (SAI) can be traced back to the year 1884, when German accident insurance law (“Unfallversicherungsgesetz”) was enacted within the framework of the general insurance code (“Reichsversicherungsordnung”). The basic structural SAI characteristics of the time are preserved to the present day. Figure 1 indicates that non-fatal workplace accidents covered by SAI in per 1,000 full-time employees terms have steeply fallen since the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Since the end of the second decade of the 20th century this also holds for fatal workplace accidents per 1,000 full-time employees.