How To Implement An Prompt Response Program For Your Workers Compensation Clams – Strategy 4
Interview The Injured Employee As Quickly As Possible
As soon as possible after the incident your incident investigator should interview the injured employee and, if possible, obtain their written statement as to what happened. Interviewing an employee after a work-related incident can be very difficult. The employee may be uncooperative because he or she is afraid of ridicule, worried about creating a bad impression, or concerned about disciplinary action. Great care should be exercised not to question an upset individual who has just sustained an injury or emotional shock. Wait until the person calms down, or the doctor or nurse indicates that it is all right.
The following are guidelines designed to help the investigator get the needed information for the incident investigation report:
- Treat the employee like you would like to be treated. The “Golden Rule” will serve you well. Anytime you are unsure of what to do or how to do something, just ask yourself “How would I like to be treated in this situation?” More often than not the employee feels the exact same way.
- Show concern. It is very important to show sincere concern for the employee’s injury, no matter how minor it is. Always take care of the employee’s injury first, and then begin the interview.
- Put the employee at ease. Use a friendly approach in dealing with the employee. Avoid sarcasm, blame, and threats. Use tact in clearing up any discrepancies in the employee’s story.
- Explain why the incident investigation is necessary. Emphasize that fact-gathering and prevention is the organization’s objective and not faultfinding. Convey that the organization is sincerely trying to find out what happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
- Listen carefully. Get the injured employee’s story first before asking questions. Be sure to listen very carefully and avoid interrupting the employee.
- Avoid “Why” questions. While asking a “Why” question is part of the “root cause analysis” process, it should not be used during the employer interview process as it will only make the employee feel uncomfortable and resist answers. Ask any other questions that you feel are appropriate. However, avoid any “Why” questions as they tend to make the employee defensive.
- Always repeat your understanding of the story. It is very important that, after listening to the employee, that the investigator repeat exactly what he or she understood the employee to say. This verifies that the investigator has understood what was said and allows the employee the chance to correct the story if necessary. If there are still misunderstandings, the investigator should take the time to correct the misunderstandings to both party’s satisfaction.
- Always ask the employee for suggestions. Employees are an excellent source of safety suggestions. Up until the injury occurred the employee was probably thinking: “This will never happen to me” - but it did. Take the time to discuss ways to prevent the reoccurrence of the situation. This may also be an excellent training opportunity.
In most states the employee is not required to provide a written report of what caused the injury, and in all cases they are not required to sign the report form itself. However, your organization can have a policy statement that requires the employee to cooperate in the incident investigation and provide any information that will prevent its reoccurrence.
The keys to obtaining this form from the injured employee are timing and genuine compassion. Regarding timing, the investigator should wait until the employee has received prompt medical attention and has emotionally stabilized. The last thing the organization wants to do is appear insensitive and ask for information while the employee is in pain or emotionally insecure over the event. This will only create friction and resentment between the organization and the injured employee. Plus the next call they make may be to their attorney, something the organization does not want to see happen. Regarding “genuine compassion,” the investigator should approach the employee with the sincere intent to learn more about what happened so that you can prevent its reoccurrence. Refrain from being accusatory at all times.
Finally, if the employee refuses to complete the form or provide information, the investigator should back away initially. Here the investigator should convey that the organization sincerely wants to understand how traumatic the injury was and that it respects the employee’s need for time and privacy. Once conveyed the investigator should try to arrange a better time to meet with the injured employee when they are feeling better. They should also report the employee’s resistance to the Claim Coordinator immediately.
CompEraser comes with on-line, on-demand resources needed to design and implement an effective PROMPT INJURY RESPONSE system, including this important step in the process. Resources also include the formalization of your safety team, injury prevention, OSHA compliance, safety training, 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.
