Investigating accidents and near-misses
All accidents and near-misses should be investigated as soon as possible, but only when safe to do so.
Investigating allows you to:
- find out what went wrong
- find out why it went wrong
- reduce or prevent the risk of it happening again
- provide information for any legal investigations or insurance claims that are made
Who to involve
For an investigation to be worthwhile it is important to involve the relevant employees. This allows you to gather all the facts.
The person leading the investigation should have:
- the required investigative skills
- a good understanding of health and safety best practice and legal requirements
Tools for investigating
To help you investigate, we have created an online accident and near-miss investigation record.
Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
You can also download a workbook free from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that explains how to investigate accidents and incidents.