Accident Investigating and Reporting

Accident Investigation Procedures

An accident investigation will be performed by the supervisor at the location where the accident occurred. EH&S is responsible for seeing that the accident investigation reports are filled out completely, conducting a post-accident investigation and ensuring that preventative recommendations are addressed. Supervisors will investigate all accidents, injuries and occupational diseases using the following investigation procedures:

• Implement temporary control measures to prevent any further injuries to employees. 
• Review the equipment, operations and processes to gain an understanding of the accident situation. 
• Identify and interview each witness and any other person who might provide clues to the accident's causes. 
• Investigate causal conditions and unsafe acts; make conclusions based on existing facts. 
• Complete the accident investigation report. 
• Provide recommendations for corrective actions. 
• Indicate the need for additional or remedial safety training.

Accident Reporting Procedures - Refer to web page link for copy of the UNF Accident Investigation Form

Accidents involving injuries which require medical treatment or result in lost work time must be reported within 7 days by utilizing the First Report of Injury or Illness (Division of Worker's Compensation DWC-1 Form) and the UNF Accident Investigation Form. These forms are provided on the accompanying pages and are available in the Office of Human Resources (OHR). 

The DWC-1 form is to be completed and returned to the OHR. The UNF Accident Investigation form is to be completed, signed by the injured employee’s supervisor and returned to EH&S. Copies of both forms should be retained by the employee for future reference. 

In some cases, the University Police Department may also conduct an incident investigation and complete a General Offense/Incident Report. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORTS

An accident investigation is not designed to find fault or place blame but is an analysis of the accident to determine causes that can be controlled or eliminated. 

Identification: This section is self-explanatory. 

Nature of Injury: Describe the injury, e.g., strain, sprain, cut, burn, fracture. Injury Type: First aid - injury resulted in minor injury/treated on premises; Medical - injury treated off premises by physician; Lost time - injured missed more than one day of work; No Injury - no injury, near-miss type of incident. Part of the Body: Part of the body directly affected, e.g., foot, arm, hand, head. 

Describe the accident: Describe the accident, including exactly what happened and where and how it happened. Describe the equipment or materials involved. 

Cause of the accident: Describe all conditions or acts which contributed to the accident, e. g., 

• unsafe conditions - spills, grease on the floor, poor housekeeping or other physical conditions. 
• unsafe acts - unsafe work practices such as failure to warn, failure to use required personal protective equipment. 

Safety training provided: Was any safety training provided to the injured related to the work activity being performed? 

Interim corrective action: Measures taken by supervisor to prevent recurrence of incident, e.g., barricading accident area, posting warning signs, shutting down operations. 

Follow-up: Once the investigation is complete, EH&S shall review and follow-up the investigation to ensure that corrective actions are taken and control measures have been implemented. 

Make sure that supervisor signatures are obtained and it is clear whether any medical treatment or lost time from work occurred.