Reports that cannot wait
Some incidents carry reporting duties with short deadlines. Federal workplace safety rules require employers to report certain serious injuries and deaths to OSHA quickly, and the workers' compensation carrier and the Board need to be told about work injuries as well. Delaying a required report to finish an internal review is a poor trade. Get medical help to the injured first, then sort out reporting. If police or regulators arrive, cooperate with them while making sure someone at the company is coordinating with counsel. Injured workers also need to know how to report the injury and get treatment under workers' compensation, and they should not be discouraged from doing so.
Keeping the scene and the evidence intact
Video from cameras on site is often recorded over on a schedule, so pull and save it right away. Where it is safe, leave equipment involved in the incident as it is and tag it out of service rather than repairing it. Collect maintenance records, training files, and staffing schedules for the shift. Witness accounts are valuable, but interviews conducted under counsel's direction are more likely to stay protected than informal statements written by supervisors. Avoid putting conclusions about fault in emails while the facts are still being gathered.
Deciding who investigates
A routine incident may be handled internally with a standard report. When there is a serious injury, a possible regulatory citation, a likely lawsuit, or a dispute among employees, the investigation is often better run through counsel so that its purpose is clear and privilege questions are considered from the start. We help decide who conducts interviews, what will be written down, and how findings will be shared. We also look at insurance notice, possible claims against equipment makers or contractors, and whether disciplinary action should wait until the facts are clearer. A careful workplace incident investigation can serve safety and legal goals at the same time.
