Workplace injuries don’t just happen in industrial locations, accidents can occur at any type of location. As no workplace is immune, it is important to understand how to proceed with interviewing witnesses and injured parties…
The focus of the interview process should not be to assign blame but to uncover the facts you will need to file your report with the Ministry of Labour and prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
Accidents and critical injuries are stressful experiences for everyone at the workplace. The immediate aftermath of the incident and the following days can be fraught with emotion and stress. It is important to proactively train supervisory personnel how to react and manage such situations, as the emotional realities will require them to fall back on this training, in order to be effective.
Here are a few suggestions to assist you to get started on your Incident Management and Interviewing Protocols:
- Be prepared for PTSD among witnesses and other employees. Post-traumatic stress symptoms are normal following a critical incident.
- Encourage employees to attend a debrief, led by an outside professional trained in critical incident stress, within 24 to 48 hours of a critical accident.
- Involve the worker and management reps of the Joint Health & Safety Committee who have received accident investigation training in interviews of eyewitnesses, material witnesses and the injured.
- Schedule interviews within 24 hours in a neutral, off-site location. If possible, keep witnesses from talking to each other to avoid contamination of information. Encourage employees to attend, but don’t make it mandatory.
- Prepare your questions in advance. Ask factual questions first then more detailed questions and keep them open ended.
- Expect a range of reactions from witnesses. People may cry, they may yell, or they may cut the interview off short.
- Demonstrate sensitivity when interviewing the injured worker. Schedule the interview only when they are ready. Be respectful of the fact that healing takes time.
- Anticipate resistance or reluctance to speak. An injured worker may refuse to talk for fear of being blamed.
If you wish to assess the readiness of your organization’s procedures and incident management training ThryvX Consulting can help. Please contact us to arrange your free consultation.
