Record number of non-professional accidents in Switzerland in 2022

Record temperatures last summer drove many into the high mountains, which sometimes ended badly. Keystone / Arno Balzarini

Last year was a bumper year for injuries and accidents during leisure activities, the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) has said.

Some 290,000 “free-time” accidents were logged in 2022, a 14% rise on 2021 and the highest level ever recorded, SUVA said on Tuesday.

The insurance fund said the high rate was due to the lifting of pandemic restrictions, as well as one of the hottest summers ever on record, which made for “perfect conditions for the practice of various open-air activities” such as skiing, cycling, and hiking.

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According to the national weather service MeteoSuisse, summer 2022 was the second hottest since records began in 1864; only summer 2003 was hotter.

March 2022, which was also unseasonably warm and dry, was however the month in which most sports and hiking accidents were recorded, SUVA said.

The 55-64-year-old age group saw the biggest increase in mishaps compared to the pre-pandemic period: accidents involving them rose by 15%.

When workplace incidents are included, the total accidents logged by SUVA in 2022 rose to 490,000, a jump of 9.7% on the previous year.