Standard 10 Reporting and Investigating Accidents/Incidents

Overview

An accident* or incident* is an unplanned occurrence that resulted or could have resulted in injury to people or damage to property, equipment, or the environment.

*Accident – Any unplanned event that results in personal injury or damage to property, equipment, or environment.

*Incident – An unplanned event that does not cause any injury or damage but could have done so.

This document describes the procedure when a student, employee, or visitor is injured or property is damaged. James Rumsey Technical Institute must obtain the best information as soon as possible in the event of an accident or incident that has happened.

This procedure must be initiated immediately following an accident or incident that may have caused an injury. The accident form must be completed by the person responsible for risk management.

Purpose

The purpose of the accident and incident investigation process is to:

1. Document the facts and methods of the investigation.
2. Identify loss trends and effectiveness of current safety programs, and
3. Prevent similar accidents or incidents.

James Rumsey Technical Institute must follow-up on each accident or potential accident to ensure:

1. It was reported properly,
2. Injured person(s) received proper first aid, and
3. Unsafe conditions are quickly corrected, or state why possible solutions were delayed.

Documentation

Documentation created during the investigation process, i.e., accident report, photographs, witnesses, or work orders for repairs, produce a permanent record for future use by James Rumsey Technical Institute

Instructor Roles and Responsibilities

The person responsible for the student at the time of the accident must register the incident and assure all documentation is filled out entirely and correctly.

• Evaluate the accident/injury/illness scene.
• Direct any unaffected persons to a safer and secure area.
• Call 911 and advise of situation, type of injury, or illness.
• Notify the front office. Emergency medical responders are notified and report to the area of the emergency.
• Assess severity of injury or illness; render first aid if qualified to do so.
• Use universal precautions if handling bodily fluids.
• Assist emergency medical responders.
• If the scene is not safe, i.e. electrocution, downed wires, etc., wait for Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Maintain classroom control and class roster information.
• Do not move injured/ill person(s) unless there is a threat or imminent danger.
• If the medical emergency involves a staff member, the incident commander assigns someone to take control of the staff member’s classroom.
• File incident report and make appropriate notifications.