Risk Management: Accidents

Risk Management: Accidents

1. Attend to any persons involved.

2. If necessary, move yourself and injured persons out of any areas of immediate danger such as fire or traffic.

3. Administer first aid if necessary. Only administer the level of first aid that you are qualified to perform.

4. Do not admit liability or promise to pay for expenses incurred by injured persons.

Key Point If an accident involves injuries or potentially involves injuries, report it to your insurance representative.

5. Call or ask a bystander to call 9-1-1 or the emergency number for police, ambulance and/or fire department if necessary. Do not leave the scene of the accident unless it is to call one of those services.

6. Protect any damaged property or evidence from further damage (as long as the protection is at a reasonable cost). As an insured, it is your duty to minimize the damage to the extent possible.

7. Complete an accident report (click here for a sample). The accident report should include at a minimum:

• names and contact information for the reporter and witnesses;
• a detailed description of the accident; and
• a description of injuries and property damage.

8. Promptly notify your insurer of the possible claim. If an employee is injured, claims should be reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board.

• Note the name of the person to whom you reported the claim. In the case of a dispute, this may be used to prove that the claim was reported.

9. Keep the report on file.

• Documentation should be kept for as long as necessary to defend against potential claims. The length of time that legal action may be taken by law is called the Statute of Limitations.
• If the victim is an adult, keep the incident documentation on file for at least three to five years after the Statute of Limitations passes for that type of claim. Your lawyer should be able to advise how long this is.
• If the victim is a minor, keep the incident documentation on file for at least three to five years after the Statute of Limitations passes for that type of claim once the minor has reached the age of majority. Your lawyer should be able to advise how long this is.
• An efficient method of organizing and storing incident reports is in an electronic database where they can be sorted and retrieved based on a number of factors.