Reporting and Recording Loss Causing Events (Injuries, Ill-Health, Dangerous Occurrence, Accident)

An Introduction to Reporting and Recording Loss Causing Events

Why it is necessary to report and record incidents such as injury, near miss, accident, product loss etc?

Accidents do occur in our routine life. There are a lot of factors behind the occurrence of these accidents. The accidents sometime lead to financial loss, product loss, or sometime victim gets injured or loses his life.

Not only this, some accidents keep occurring again and again due to non-reporting and investigation. The reporting is not done due to lack of knowledge and importance. It is necessary to report all kind of incident occurring to ensure they are recorded, investigated, and their reoccurrence is prevented. 

• Why Accidents & Incidents should be reported and investigated?

The primary aim is to ensure that the incident is investigated, corrective actions are taken and applied to prevent the reoccurrence and avoid the breach of law. If an accident or incident is not reported and investigated, it is considered an offence and culprit can be prosecuted.

Secondly, when a worker claims insurance or files a suit in the court for compensation, the incident investigation report is presented as a document to ensure that the employer is complying with the law and ensuring the safety and security of the workers. 

When an organizations claims for insurance, the insurance company requires the investigation report as an evidence before compensating the victim or organization.

• Reporting Requirements & Procedure

Convention C155, Article 11, Part C says, 

The competent Authority shall establish and apply procedure to report all kind of occupational accidents and incidents to comply with the law to investigate them and prevent the reoccurrence. 

Protocol (P155)

Protocol (P155) to the convention is actually aimed at the reporting requirements defines a number of terms;

a) The term Occupational Accident covers an occurrence arising out of, or in the course of, work which results in fatal or non-fatal injury.

b) The term "Occupational Disease" covers an disease contracted as a result of an exposure to risk factors arising from work activity.

c) The term "Dangerous Occurrence" covers a readily identifiable event as defined under national laws and with potential to cause an injury or disease to person at work or to the public.

d) The term "Commuting Accident" an accident resulting in death or personal injury occurring on the direct way between the place of work and;

1. the worker's residence;
2. the dinning area
3.  the place where a worker usually gets his/her remuneration

• Basic Requirements of P155

The basic requirements of the Protocol 155 are listed below;

Record & Notify occupational Accidents, suspected cases of occupational diseases, dangerous occurrence, and commuting incidents. 

The information should include following elements when notifying and recording the incident;

• Employer name
• Person name injured in accident
• Workplace circumstances e.g., accident, dangerous occurrence, disease, violence etc. 

Inform employees about the recording & notification system

Maintain Record and use them in future for investigation, hazard identification, training, inspection etc.

Notifiable diseases should at least include the prescribed diseases listed under ILO Convention C121. 

In United Kingdom, the criteria for reporting and recording Occupational Accidents and Dangerous Occurrence is following; 

• Occupational Accidents - Fatal/ Non-fatal injuries, accidents, fractures, deaths, loss of sight, hearing etc.
• Dangerous Occurrences e.g., gas leakage, crane/ scaffolding/ structure collapse etc. 

According to ILO Code of Practice to record and notify the incident, following dataset is established;

1. Enterprise/ Establishment & Employer Details

• Employer - Name, Address, Contact Details
• Enterprise - Name, Address
• Establishment - Name, Address, Economic Activity, Size/ Workforce

 2. Injured/ Diseased Person

• Name of the victim
• Address & Contact Details
• Employment Status
• Occupation & Duration of Service

3. Additional Information

For Accident: 

• Type of Injury
• Accident & sequence
• Accident Location
• Date & Time
• Equipment involved in the accident

For Diseased Person:

• Name & Address
• Contact Details
• Name of Close relative
• Type of incident - Died due to accident or disease
• Date of Diagnosis
• Permissible Exposure Limit to the substance that is behind disease
• Duration of exposure limit

UK government requires all notifiable incidents and diseases should be reported as soon as possible via landline or online available reporting forms. If anyone doesn't comply with law, he/she will have to face the prosecution active. Fine, Arrest, and both simultaneously are possible outcomes of legal action.