Fail To Investigate Workers Compensation Injuries At Your Own Peril
In recent blogs I reviewed three gray areas that often arise in workers compensation claims – onsite recreation, horseplay and going/coming from the workplace. In addition, there are many times when there is a real question if the employee was actually injured on the job or if the event actually occurred at all. The only way your organization can be sure if the event is compensable under workers compensation law is to conduct a through accident investigation.
The primary purpose of an incident investigation is to gather information about the event and to develop a proposed solution to the problem so that it will not happen again. It also is designed to start building a file to support your claim management strategies. If properly done, the incident investigation is a fact-gathering exercise, not a faultfinding exercise. This is called an “incident investigation” because it may involve not only a worker injury. It may also involve a near miss, a first aid only claim, or any other incident that occurs in the workplace.
The timing of the accident investigation is critical. Time is of the essence. The longer you want the more difficult it will be to establish the facts. It should begin as soon as possible after the event has occurred since all the circumstances are still fresh in the mind of the injured employee and witnesses. Ideally this should be within the first 24-hours after the injury occurred.
The philosophy behind the organization’s incident investigation procedures should be summed up in the following way:
§ All incidents have causes. If the organization can eliminate the causes it can prevent future incidents;
§ Causes of work-related injuries can be determined;
§ It is possible to develop and implement appropriate corrective action which will eliminate the cause(s) and prevent similar incidents;
§ Incident investigations are a fact-gathering exercise, not a faultfinding exercise. The organization should approach incident investigations from the point of view that “one of our own” has been hurt on the job and its wants to find out what happened so that it will not happen again. Pointing fingers only causes resentment and fears of punitive management action. Neither attitude fosters teamwork and a sense of common purpose.
If you would like a toolkit that outlines on a step-by-step basis how to conduct a prompt, effective accident investigation please email me at bill@CompEraser.com.
CompEraser resources also include the formalization of your safety team, injury prevention, OSHA compliance, safety training, prompt injury response, workers compensation disability management, plus more. These resources are available 24/7 and used irrespective of which workers compensation carrier you select. Its patent-pending technology also provides unique financial reports for monitoring the effectiveness of your safety and health program on an on-going basis. For more information visit our website at www.CompEraser.com.
