Incident Investigation
Download the full incident investigation. (Download in Spanish.)
Investigations are part of your workplace safety program. It’s important to collect information and understand what happened to cause an incident so you can develop safeguards to avoid it in the future.
OSHA strongly encourages employers to investigate all incidents. A near miss, or close call, should also be investigated because an employee could have been injured under slightly different circumstances.*
Follow these steps to help with the investigation process
1. If medically possible, provide the Incident Report to the injured employee and ask them to complete Section A. They should explain what happened and why they think it occurred in their own words.
2. Complete Section B on the Incident Report, including these key items:
- Injury source
- Body part(s) affected
- Witnesses
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) used, if applicable
- Type of incident
3. Complete the Incident Analysis with the following key items:
- Incident description
- Contributing factors
- Corrective action
- Follow-up for corrective action by due date
4. If you take photos, save them for submission at a later date if needed.
5. Complete separate witness statements if needed.
*Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Incident Investigation.” osha.gov/incident-investigation.
Disclaimer: The primary intent of these documents is to provide you with guidance developing, establishing, or improving your own safety program. This material is intended only as a basis for you to develop your own safety program by giving you some procedures covering topics most employers must handle. You are free to modify or delete items to fit your needs. However, this material is not all-inclusive and may not address special safety issues unique to your industry. This plan may not fulfill written or minimum performance standards of your state or federal regulations. Be certain that you evaluate any additional needs, related regulations, and your commitment to work-place safety. Solicit input from members of your work force and management team in the development of this program. Remember, any written plan is only as good as your commitment. We disclaim any legal liability for any legal action that may arise out of these materials.