How to Conduct a Work Accident Investigation

When used in the workplace, the term "accident" can describe a wide variety of events. Any occurrence that prevents an employee from completing assigned work can fall under the umbrella of an "accident," but the term is applied most frequently to activity that results in physical injury or the destruction of personal property. In order to protect yourself legally and pursue any form of compensation, you'll need to report the incident and conduct a work accident investigation.

Things You'll Need

• Corporate safety representative
• Interviews from fellow employees
• Written report
• Evaluation of machinery and workplace conditions

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Instructions

• 1

  Inform management of the accident. Submit a written statement to your supervisors so the accident has been entered into record. Include specific details about the incident, including date, time, suspected causes and damages suffered.

• 2

  Form a partnership to help conduct the work accident investigation. An injured employee needs to work with his manager or supervisor to explore what happened. Additionally, your company should assign a corporate safety representative to help evaluate the circumstances that contributed to the accident.

• 3

  Examine any equipment or machinery that was involved in the accident. You'll need to determine if the accident was the fault of the machine itself or the way in which the employee was using it.

• 4

  Take statements from employees who may have witnessed the accident or experienced similar problems in the workplace.

• 5

  Familiarize yourself with more of the basics on work accident investigations by visiting the official website of the OSH.net (see Resources below). It is a great source for information on occupational safety and health.

• 6

  Meet with employees and management to evaluate the results of the investigation. Make necessary changes in workplace standards and practices that will prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. Make sure to conduct followups to ensure that new practices have been implemented successfully.