TOOL BOX TALK - ACCIDENT REPORTING AND THE …

1 tool BOX TALK - ACCIDENT REPORTING AND THE benefits OF DOING SO February 2016 Rev. 1 We obviously want to keep accidents to a minimum. But sometimes they happen, and it is important for your own benefit that any injury, however minor, is treated and that the ACCIDENT is recorded in the site records. Failure to do so may compromise your situation if there are any complications. Each site has an ACCIDENT book for recording all accidents. You will find the book with the site manager. An ACCIDENT book is also held centrally in the company s offices. If you sustain an injury, or there is significant collateral damage to property and artefacts, you must report the ACCIDENT as soon as you can for entry in the ACCIDENT book. If you fail to report an injury, and decide later you need to take action, for instance in pursuit of a claim or benefits , the company will have no record of the injury and reasonably question whether it occurred on site.

2 This may well result in failure of the claim. The prompt REPORTING of an ACCIDENT may well result in saving a life. Your cooperation is therefore very important. If there is an ACCIDENT at your workplace, help by: making sure that, where necessary, first aid assistance is called immediately. Seeing that it is reported without delay to your supervisor, even when no person has been injured. Ensuring, in the case of personal injury, that the ACCIDENT site is left undisturbed until clearance is given by your supervisor. Ensuring that any items which may assist in the ACCIDENT investigation are retained and passed to your supervisor. Even minor accidents can lead to severe complications. In one case, a person trod on a nail but did not report it. By the time he went to hospital the problem was so serious they had to amputate the leg. In this situation, his failure to report the ACCIDENT would cause severe complications in the event of any claim.

3 The company operates a 'no blame' policy where a person has sustained or caused an injury, even when they have made an honest mistake. In any event, the consequences of not REPORTING the incident would be appreciably worse should complications develop. The company s main objective is to learn from the incident and see there is no repetition. It is in everybody's interests to ensure accidents are reported and dealt with. Do you have any questions? Issued by: Foresight Safety Ltd P O Box 917 Woking Surrey GU21 8YA Tel: 01483 824262 E-mail: info@foresight