Safety Policy & Procedure Manual
Section 200: Workplace Safety
Effective: 03/24/2008
Revised: 10/22/2014

Purpose

To determine how and why failures occurred and to prevent similar or more serious additional accidents.

Background Information

Most accidents are caused by the failure of people, equipment, materials, or environments to behave or react as expected.  Accident investigations are an important part of the University’s accident prevention program.

An important aspect of the entire accident prevention effort is the University's ability to record and track the complete accident experience.  This includes not only accidents to employees, but also to students, visitors, and volunteers.  The Report of Accident form has been developed to provide the accident related information in a uniform manner.  The information is then sent to University organizations that oversee loss control and employee benefit programs, such as the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S).  These organizations can then direct their efforts and resources to the areas of greatest concern.

Policy

All accidents that occur on the job and result in injury must be investigated and reported in a timely manner.  Late reports result in unnecessary fines and delayed claims. 

Incidents (accidents involving no medical claims or time lost) must be reported on a HR Advocate Public Incident Reporting Form. Accidents involving medical claims or time lost must be reported on the SAIF 801 form (State of Oregon Worker’s and Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury and Disease) and the Report of Accident form.

Supervisor Responsibility
Supervisors are responsible for performing an accident investigation of all injury related accidents.  Accident investigations are to be conducted with prevention in mind and should not be done to place blame. 

Employees or Volunteers
The supervisor must discuss the incident with the employee or volunteer and any witnesses before completing the reports.  The supervisor must also make any necessary changes in procedures or conditions to prevent similar accidents.

Students or Visitors
All injuries incurred by students and visitors at the University should be investigated and reported.  The responsibility for reporting has been assigned to the instructor or department administrator who was in charge of the area, class, or function during which the student or visitor was injured.  The injury is reported on a HR Advocate Public Incident Reporting Form and it is important to include all pertinent information about the accident and the names of any witnesses.

Procedure

Report of Accident Form
The HR Advocate Public Incident Reporting Form should be completed as soon as possible after the accident.  Forms are available from OHR.  The form's purpose is to gather facts on how the accident happened, names of witnesses, and what medical treatment was required.  A copy of the completed Report of Accident form must be sent to Human Resources Staff Benefits.  If an accident involving an employee eventually requires medical treatment or involves time lost, the original Report of Accident form is sent to OHR with the SAIF 801 form.

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for sending a copy of the Report of Accident and SAIF 801 forms to EH&S who may decide to investigate the accident further.  Supervisors should assist EH&S in this investigation because of the lag time associated with the written reports.  All serious accidents should also be reported by telephone to EH&S as soon as possible.

SAIF 801 Form
The SAIF 801 Form must be completed in addition to the Report of Accident for all on-the-job injuries that cause lost work time and/or require off-campus medical attention. This form is used to claim payment of benefits for an occupational injury or illness.  Forms are available from OHR and completed forms must be filed with OHR within 48 hours of the accident. 

Questions regarding Workers' Compensation claims, Report of Accident forms, or SAIF 801 forms may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, at 7-2916.