Accident Statements

Only about 10% of the participants in my training sessions report that their organization requires formal accident statements from victims or witnesses. Most simply use the 5 or 6 lines found on their investigation reports to capture this information. For those that have a separate statement page requirement virtually 100% of them simply get the witness to write their statement and attach it to the report. Seldom are the statement contents ever closely examined, nor as class participants have stated, are they of much value.

Not every workplace accident needs to be examined or documented in great detail.  Given remote sites and the lack of readily available investigators these “write ‘em out yourself and send 'em in statements” will be around forever. However, for those situations where the stakes are higher we need to do a better job of collecting information. Here are a couple of ideas that might improve the worth of a statement.

Any statement should be committed to paper only after a thorough interview. This is somewhat of a courtesy issue as well. People want to talk about what happened to them or what they saw. They will share far more information verbally than they ever will by simply asking them to put it in writing. Can't get to the site? Consider using the telephone to conduct this preliminary interview.

Based on the notes kept during the preliminary interview a formal statement can now be completed by the investigator or the witness can be asked to write out their statement. Any surprises uncovered during the interview will now not be overlooked in the statement. Statements taken on the fly in a question and answer format will usually be less complete and accurate that one written after a properly conducted interview. Important pieces of information will often be overlooked. Have the chat first, and then complete the statement.

It is usually more efficient for the investigator to do the writing as if he was the witness using a first person perspective. For example, rather than “the witness placed the ladder against the scaffold.” Use “I placed the ladder against the scaffold.”

If you are taking the statement you will need to review it word for word with the witness and make corrections. Have the statement signed and dated. Some organizations include the following as part of the signature - “Everything in this statement is true and accurate.” This can provide an incentive during the witnesses' review to make those changes before accepting full responsibility for the contents.

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