How to Properly Document Work-Related Injuries and Incidents

No one ever likes to see injuries or illnesses happen in the workplace, but they are an unfortunate reality in some industries. Federal law requires all workplace accidents causing injuries or illnesses to be documented, though it is strongly recommended that your company document every single type of safety incident that even has a remote chance of causing an accident or injury, even in situations in which no injury actually occurred.

With this in mind, here is some information from an injury lawyer in Miami, FL about the proper steps to take to document these safety incidents:

• Thoroughly document the scene: Get to the accident site as quickly as possible, and make sure the area is safe to enter before going in. Your first priority should be to make sure the injured person is getting the medical attention they need. After that, find any witnesses and take down their version of the events. Record the scene with photos and protect any evidence in the area so you can more easily establish exactly what happened.
• Investigate the incident: You should be able to note who was involved, what exactly happened, when and where it happened and what caused the incident. The more information you have, the better.
• Interview the people involved in the incident: Conduct interviews of all people involved, and avoid assigning blame during the process, even if one person admits to having caused the accident. It’s important to get their version of what happened so you can help establish a timeline.
• Document thoroughly: Make sure you properly document every step of your investigation. Your organization should have clear forms and processes specifically for these types of scenarios so you know what questions you should be asking, the kind of information you need to find and who needs to be involved with the investigations.
• Keep information private: You should never hand out the investigation reports to anyone who does not have the proper authorization to see them—they should strictly be on a need-to-know basis. This will ensure you are able to protect the privacy of all the people involved in the investigation.
• Thoroughly review your investigations: Before your next safety committee meeting, make sure you review any investigations that occurred since the last meeting of the committee. Doing so will help your committee figure out ways to prevent future incidents of a similar nature from occurring.

There are different standards you’ll need to know for reporting incidents to OSHA—specific forms are available at the OSHA website, and include the Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) and Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses).

A personal injury lawyer in Miami, FL can help you get through the investigation, documentation and reporting process after a workplace injury or illness occurs. Contact the office of Ruben J. Padron, PA today for more information about how to navigate your workplace injury case. We look forward to assisting you.

Categorised in: Personal Injury Attorney