Business owners in Ohio should have a clear idea of what to do in the event of a workplace accident. Every business in Ohio should understand best practices according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and available resources from OSHA and the Ohio BWC. Consider the following best practices when responding to a report of a workplace injury and investigating any accident or safety issue at your workplace.

Be Ready With an Accident and Analysis Process in Place

The first step in any proper workplace accident investigation takes place before an accident ever occurs. Your business should develop a process that is tailored to your business for investigating an accident and analyzing the results. According to the Ohio BWC, you should ensure that all employees are properly trained in the process. It will be important to clarify which employees are responsible for filling out accident reports and which employees will be required to analyze the information obtained from the investigation. The Ohio BWC recommends creating a streamlined “accident-analysis form” so that every investigator will know what information they must obtain.

Conduct an On-Site Investigation That Identifies Root Causes of the Accident

On-site investigations are critical in the aftermath of a workplace accident, as OSHA explains. In an on-site accident, it will be important to document the site where the accident occurred, which may include visual evidence in the form of photos or videos, the investigator’s written notes and impressions, and detailed measurements. If the accident involved equipment, a tool, or a machine, it is essential to detail the condition of that device, specific information about the environmental conditions in which it was stored and used, and its make and model.

After you have been on-site, you should move off-site to another space or room at your business to conduct interviews as part of the investigation. You should plan for interviews with the injured worker, relevant co-workers (including those who have also performed the injured employee’s job and those who work under similar conditions), anyone who reported the accident, anyone who witnessed the accident, and your business’s safety director. These interviews should include streamlined questions concerning when the accident happened, who was involved, where it occurred, and how it happened. You should also plan to ask questions concerning the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), whether employees had prior concerns about this particular safety issue, and whether similar incidents (or near-misses) have occurred previously.

Prepare a Report That Includes Analysis and Future Safety Recommendations

Finally, you should prepare a report that includes all details from the investigation. Then, the report should include an analysis of that information, including conclusions about causation and suggestions for future safety record improvement.

Know About Resources Available to Your Business

Both OSHA and the BWC provide detailed steps for responding to an accident in the workplace, and those listed steps can be helpful resources for you when you are developing an accident and analysis process, conducting the actual accident investigation, and analyzing the information you have obtained.   OSHA also provides a fantastic resource, the Small Business Safety & Health Handbook, that provides self-inspection checklists you can use to audit your own workplace. Other tools are available on OSHA’s Small Business webpage.

• OSHA publication, “Incident [Accident] Investigations: A Guide for Employers” (contains sample forms, checklists, etc.)
• National Safety Council publication, “How to Conduct an Incident Investigation”
• Ohio BWC Accident Analysis Report
• Ohio BWC Virtual Training – Accident Analysis Half-Day Workshop on January 18 and on June 15

Contact a Workplace Lawyer in Ohio for Assistance

Businesses in Ohio should be prepared to investigate accidents properly when they occur on the worksite. In order to conduct a proper investigation, you will need to have a process in place that involves gathering evidence at the scene of the accident, interviewing witnesses, and analyzing the data you ultimately gather in order to prevent similar accidents in the future.

If you need assistance developing your business’s accident and analysis process, you should seek advice from an experienced Ohio workplace lawyer at our firm. Wells Law, LLC is here to assist you in the development of cost-efficient, compliant policies and procedures for your professional practice or business. Click on the hyperlink to contact us or to learn more about the services we can provide to reduce risk for you and your business.