Reporting, Recording and Investigation

Reporting, Recording and Investigation of
Accidents, Diseases and Dangerous

Occurrences
The reporting and investigation of accidents,

occupational diseases and scheduled dangerous
occurrences, such as a boiler explosion or scaffold
collapse, has been a legal requirement for many years.
Much of the current legislation is based on the lessons

learnt as a result of investigation of these events by the
enforcement agencies, government departments and
following public enquiries.
The law on accident reporting
NOTIFICATION OF ACCIDENT, DANGEROUS

OCCURRENCE, OCCUPATIONAL POISONING AND
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES REGULATIONS 2004
Reportable Injuries
Any person, as a result of an accident arising out of or in
connection with work, dies or suffers any of the following
injuries or conditions :
fracture of the skull, spine or pelvis;
fracture of any borne :
Reportable Injuries
(a) In the arm or wrist, but not a bone in the hand; or

(b) In the leg or ankle, but not a bone in the foot;
Amputation of :
(a) A hand or foot; or
(b) A finger, thumb or toe, or any part thereof if the joint or bone
is completely severed;
The loss of sight of an eye, a penetrating injury to an eye,

or a chemical or hot metal burn to an eye;
Either injury (including burns), requiring immediate medical

treatment, or loss of consciousness, resulting in either case
from an electric shock from any electrical circuit or
equipment, whether or not due to direct contact;
Reportable Injuries
Loss of consciousness resulting from lack of oxygen;
Decompression sickness (unless suffered during a Diving

Operations ) requiring immediate medical treatment;
Either acute illness requiring medical treatment , or loss of

consciousness, resulting in either case from the absorption
of any substance by inhalation, ingestion or through the
skin ;
Acute illness requiring medical treatment where there is

reason to believe that this resulted from exposure to
pathogen or infected material ;
Any other injury which results in the person injured being

admitted into hospital for more than 24 hours.
Reportable Injuries
The injury results in a person at work, i.e. employee, self

employed person or trainee, being incapacitated for
his normal work for more than three days as a result
of the accident at work.
Where an employee dies as a result of a reportable injury

within one year of sustaining the injury.
SCHEDULED DANGEROUS OCCURRENCES
Dangerous occurrences are specified in the Regulations

and must be reported to the enforcing authority
irrespective of personal injury being sustained.
Dangerous occurrences are classed as those types of

incident where there is some potential for fatal or
major injury and/or serious property damage.
Typical e.g are the collapse or overturning of lifting
machinery, unintentional explosions, gassing
accidents and boiler explosions.
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
Two aspects of disease reporting must be considered.
Refer to Third Schedule Column 1 & Column 2

( Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994 )
INDIRECT CAUSES
Personal factor
Definition : Any condition or

characteristic of a man that causes or
influences him to act unsafely.
1. Knowledge and skill deficiencies:
a) Lack of hazard awareness
b) Lack of job knowledge
c) Lack of job skill
9
2. Conflicting motivations:
a) Saving time and effort
b) Avoiding discomfort
c) Attracting attention
d) Asserting independence
e) Seeking group approval
f) Expressing resentment
3. Physical and mental incapacities.

INDIRECT CAUSE
Source causes
Definition: Any circumstances that

may cause or contribute to the
development of an unsafe condition
Major sources
1. Production employees
2. Maintenance employees
3. Design and engineering
4. Purchasing practices
5. Normal wear through use
6. Abnormal wear and tear
7. Lack of preventive maintenance
8. Outside contractors.
DIRECT CAUSES
Unsafe act
Definition : Any act that deviates

from a generally recognised safe way
of doing a job and increases the
likelihood of an accident.
Basic types
1. Failure to make secure
2. Operating at unsafe speed
3. Failure to warn or signal
4. Nullifying safety devices
5. Using defective equipment
6. Using equipment unsafely
7. Operating without authority
8. Taking unsafe position
9. Repairing or servicing moving or energized
equipment
10. Riding hazardous equipment
11. Horseplay
12. Failure to use protection
Unsafe conditions
Definition: Any environmental

condition that may cause or contribute to
an accident.
Basic types
1. Inadequate guards and safety devices
2. Inadequate warning systems
3. Fire and explosion hazards
4. Unexpected movement hazards
5. Poor housekeeping
6. Protruding hazards
7. Congestion, close clearance
8. Hazardous, atmospheric conditions
9. Hazardous placement or storage
10. Unsafe equipment defects
11. Inadequate illumination, noise
12. Hazardous personal attire
ACCIDENTS
The accident
Definition: An unexpected occurrence

that interrupts work and usually takes
this form of an abrupt contact.
Basic types
1. Struck by
2. Contact by
3. Struck against
4. Contact with
5. Caught in
6. Caught on
7. Caught between
8. Fall to different level
9. Fall on same level
10. Exposure
11. Overexertion/strain
DIRECT RESULTS
Direct results
Definition : The immediate results of

an accident.
Basic types
1. No results or near miss
2. Minor injury
3. Major injury
4. Property damage
INDIRECT RESULTS
Indirect results
Definition: The consequences for all
concerned that flow from the direct
result of accidents.
For the injured
1. Loss of earning
2. Disrupted family life
3. Disrupted person life
4. And other consequences
For the company
1. Injury costs
2. Production loss costs
3. Property damage costs
4. Lowered employee morale
5. Poor reputation
6. Poor customer relations
7. Loss supervisor time
8. Product damage costs
The Costs of Accidents
All accidents, cases of occupational disease and scheduled dangerous

occurrence represent some degree of loss to a company. There
are direct and indirect costs.
DIRECT COSTS
These are sometimes referred to as insured costs and involve the
companys liabilities both as an occupier of premises and
employer of staff.
Companies pay premiums to an insurance company to give them cover
against claims history and the risks involved in the business
operation.
Others : product liability claims for defective or unsafe products or
specific injury claims, which may be settled in or out of a court.
Fines imposed by courts for breaches of the law, together with defence
costs in such cases, can be substantial direct cost.
INDIRECT COSTS
While many organisations may be fully aware of the direct costs of
accidents, very little attention is paid to the indirect costs.
Many of these costs may be hidden in other costs and thus not fully
recognised, eg production costs, administration costs.
Typical indirect costs, many of which can be simply calculated, include
the following:
Treatment costs of the injured employee, eg first aid, transport to
hospital, hospital charges, attendance by a local doctor or
specialist treatment following the accident; lost time costs, of the
injured person, management, first aid staff and others involved; eg
lost production; extra overtime overtime costs to make up
production losses; damage costs; and training and supervision
costs.
INDIRECT COSTS
It can be extremely costly to investigate an accident thoroughly in terms
of time involvement of management, supervisory staff and
witnesses.
Other miscellaneous costs include, perhaps, replacement of damaged
personal property and incidental costs incurred by witnesses
attending court.
There are no current average costs of accidents.
A minor injury accident, perhaps requiring 10 minutes for the first aid
treatment, may cost very little.
On the other hand, if such treatments are frequent, costs can soon
mount up.
In the case of fatal and major injury accidents, both direct and indirect
costs can be substantial, frequently going into six figures.
INDIRECT COSTS
Accidents investigation and costing should, therefore, be undertaken by

all organisations. Not only does such an exercise identify causes
and costs, but it clearly identifies areas of loss and future loss
potential, together with providing feedback on future accident
prevention strategies.
SUMMARY
There is a legal duty on owners, occupiers and employers to

report certain defined injuries, diseases and dangerous
occurrences to the enforcement agencies.
The investigation of accidents should result in a clear indication of
the causes of the accident and of the action necessary to prevent
a recurrence.
All accidents have both direct and indirect costs to an employer.
The cause-accident-result sequence provides a useful guide to
accident investigation and potential losses resulting from same.

Reporting, Recording and Investigation

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Reporting, Recording and Investigation

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Reporting, Recording and Investigation of

Accidents, Diseases and Dangerous

The reporting and investigation of accidents,

Much of the current legislation is based on the lessons

NOTIFICATION OF ACCIDENT, DANGEROUS

(a) In the arm or wrist, but not a bone in the hand; or

The loss of sight of an eye, a penetrating injury to an eye,

Either injury (including burns), requiring immediate medical

Loss of consciousness resulting from lack of oxygen;

Decompression sickness (unless suffered during a Diving

Either acute illness requiring medical treatment , or loss of

Acute illness requiring medical treatment where there is

Any other injury which results in the person injured being

The injury results in a person at work, i.e. employee, self

Where an employee dies as a result of a reportable injury

Dangerous occurrences are specified in the Regulations

Dangerous occurrences are classed as those types of

Two aspects of disease reporting must be considered.

Refer to Third Schedule Column 1 & Column 2

Definition : Any condition or

3. Physical and mental incapacities.

Definition: Any circumstances that

Definition : Any act that deviates

Definition: Any environmental

Definition: An unexpected occurrence

Definition : The immediate results of

All accidents, cases of occupational disease and scheduled dangerous

Accidents investigation and costing should, therefore, be undertaken by

There is a legal duty on owners, occupiers and employers to

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