A2234B - INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM, INCIDENT INVESTIGATION - FINAL.PDF

MARICOPA COUNTY INTERNAL POLICY
Policy Number: A2234b
Policy Title:
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION Current Adoption MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION
Current
MM-DD-YYYY
Implementation Date:
Board Agenda
Approved by: C-##-##-###-#-#
Number:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Original Adoption
5-20-2015
Date:
I. PURPOSE
All accidents that result in injury to workers or damage to property, regardless of their nature, shall be
investigated by the job-site supervisor and reported to Risk Management. The supervisor shall
complete an online claim form within the time frame specified in County Policy A2218 Reporting
Industrial Injury and Illness. The Vehicle Use Permit and Workers’ Compensation (VUP/WC)
Committee shall review accidents and Workers’ Compensation claims to determine preventability and
to determine if additional practices, new or updated procedures and/or training need to be
implemented to prevent similar incidents.
II. POLICY
A. Accidents are investigated to prevent reoccurrence of similar incidents in the future. Events that
must be investigated include:
1. Bodily Injury or Illness: An event that results in any bodily harm, including minor harm that
does not require medical attention.
2. Vehicle Accident or Other Property Damage: An event that causes damage to any vehicle,
County Facility, or other material, including non-County property.
3. Near Miss: An incident where no property was damaged and no personal injury sustained,
but where given a slight shift in time or position, damage and/or injury easily could have
occurred.
B. At the scene of an accident, job site supervisors shall follow these guidelines, when applicable, to
ensure all the necessary information is on the online claim form:
1. Use an unbiased approach when conducting the investigation.
2. Interview witnesses and the injured employees as soon as possible.
3. Conduct these interviews in private and on a one-on-one basis.
4. Conduct a walkthrough of the accident.
5. Take photos or make a sketch of the accident scene.
6. Make note of any hazards and/or unsafe acts that contributed to the accident.
7. Ensure hazardous conditions are corrected immediately.
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Policy Title: Policy Number: A2234b
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION
Current Adoption
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
C. Job site supervisors should attempt to determine answers to the following questions when
investigating an accident:
1. What was not normal or what changed before the accident?
2. Where did the abnormalities occur?
3. When were the abnormalities first noted?
4. How did the abnormalities occur?
5. What was the sequence of events leading up to or involved in the accident?
6. Were there distractions or interruptions involved?
7. Were there any training issues surrounding the accident?
8. Were multiple tasks being performed?
9. Would a new or modified policy or procedure have addressed this event?
III. VUP/WC COMMITTEE
A. The VUP/WC Committee reviews vehicle- and equipment-related accidents and/or abuse, and
Workers’ Compensation claims to determine their root cause and preventability. The VUP/WC
Committee will recommend corrective measures, additional training or modifications to affected
departments. The objective of the review process is to reduce vehicle collisions and abuse, and
incidents of workplace injury, and to limit the County’s property damage and Workers’
Compensation liability.
B. Policies
1. The VUP/WC Committee voting members will consist of the Risk Management Safety
Manager, Safety Specialists and Safety Training and Development Specialists.
2. All departments are invited to attend at their discretion.
3. All members must be chargeable-accident free for a prior three-year period. Any member of
the VUP/WC Committee who is found chargeable for an accident shall be removed from the
committee.
4. The VUP/WC Committee shall review all vehicle and equipment accidents and abuse cases
except in cases where MCSO Officers are involved in law enforcement duties other than
routine patrol and training, in which case the accident is referred to the MCSO Review Board.
5. The VUP/WC Committee only determines preventability and root cause, not overall liability of
the case.
6. The employee or the employee’s Appointing Authority may appeal the VUP/WC Committee’s
decision concerning preventability of the incident to a panel consisting of the Human
Resources Director, the Risk Management Director and the County Manager, or their
designees, none of whom may have served as a VUP/WC Committee member for the initial
investigation. Each panel member shall render a decision on the appeal and the majority
decision shall be final.
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Policy Title: Policy Number: A2234b
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION
Current Adoption
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
C. Responsibilities
1. Review Board
The VUP/WC Committee is established to review the facts of incidents, determine root
causes and vote on preventability. The VUP/WC Committee will exercise reasonable
judgment to determine preventability, and safety and loss prevention recommendations.
2. Risk Management Safety Division
a. Conducts preliminary investigations and secures information for the VUP/WC Committee.
b. Prepares agenda for the VUP/WC Committee hearing.
c. Provides the VUP/WC Committee findings to the Appointing Authority of the department
where the accident occurred within one week after the review.
D. Procedures
1. The VUP/WC Committee will meet monthly.
2. Each VUP/WC committee member will vote on whether an incident is Preventable. The
majority vote shall prevail.
3. The VUP/WC committee will then place the Preventable incident into a category, and will
make specific safety and loss prevention recommendations.
IV. CHARGEABLE ACCIDENT RISK CATEGORIES
A. The Chargeable Accident Risk Categories listed below are provided as a tool to help classify the
severity of the incident. This classification assists managers throughout the County maintain
consistency when determining appropriate disciplinary action.
1. First accident, minor in nature, involving no injuries of any kind, and cumulative damages less
than $2,000
2. Multiple accidents within a three-year period beginning with the date of the first chargeable
accident
3. Accident with personal injuries of any kind and/or property damage in excess of $2,000
4. Accident involving unreasonable safety conduct and/or disregard for County policy and
procedures
V. INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES
A. Risk Management's primary Workers' Compensation responsibilities are as follows:
1. Fund Workers' Compensation benefits through the County's self-insurance trust fund
2. Manage claims administration
3. Evaluate and initiate cost containment programs
4. Provide loss control and claims data to County departments
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Policy Title: Policy Number: A2234b
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION
Current Adoption
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
5. Manage defense counsel
6. Pursue recoveries from parties that contributed or caused injury to covered persons
B. Who Is Covered
1. Workers' Compensation benefits are provided pursuant to Title 23 of the Arizona Revised
Statutes. The statute covers County employees and volunteers (under certain circumstances)
and is the exclusive remedy for County employees injured in the course and scope of their
employment.
2. Direct any questions regarding the scope of Workers' Compensation coverage to Risk
Management.
C. Reporting Industrial Injuries
1. Medical care should be sought for all employee injuries requiring immediate medical attention
at a County authorized medical care provider. Contact the department’s HR representative
or a supervisor or consult one of the posters located throughout the County that provides
directions to the nearest medical facility.
2. Where possible, the injured worker shall completed their portion of the Physician’s Report of
Industrial Injury prior to giving it to the physician
3. All incidents of work related injuries must be investigated and documented.
a. The injured employee’s supervisor should contact Risk Management and their Human
Resources (HR) Liaison to advise them of the injury as soon as possible.
b. Supervisors shall complete the online claim form within 24 hours and submit it to Risk
Management.
c. Injuries classified as more serious than first aid must be recorded on the Risk
Management OSHA 300 log and retained for five years
d. Each Department’s HR Liaison will receive a completed OSHA 300A summary prepared
by Risk Management to post on the official department bulletin board from February 1
through April 30 of each year. The original form(s) shall be retained for five years
following the creation of the record.
4. Fatalities must be reported immediately to County Risk Management who will then notify the
Arizona Division of Occupation Safety & Health (ADOSH).
5. Work related hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye must be reported within twenty-four
(24) hours after the in-patient hospitalization.
6. All reports must be made to their respective authorities in the manner as required by
regulation or law.
7. The VUP/WC Committee shall conduct its review as stated in § III above.
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Policy Title: Policy Number: A2234b
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION
Current Adoption
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
VI. SAFETY INSPECTIONS
A. Policies
1. All work units shall conduct and document monthly safety inspections. These inspections
should identify any hazards and provide evidence that these hazards are tracked and needed
corrections are completed.
2. Job site supervisors have primary responsibility for inspection of the work area and correction
of any unsafe conditions or unsafe work practices. Supervisors may conduct the inspections
themselves or designate a trained individual to do so.
3. The Risk Management Safety Division has secondary responsibility for inspection and will
provide resources for training or specialty inspections.
B. Process
1. Supervisor
a. Conducts the monthly inspection or periodically accompanies the designee on inspection
b. Corrects the findings in a reasonable time period and documents corrections
c. Contacts Risk Management Safety Division if the inspections cannot be completed or
additional review is needed
d. Incorporates changes to eliminate safety problems, and shares practices with other
departments to achieve best practices
2. Safety Division
a. Periodically inspects County facilities and work areas for compliance with applicable rules
and regulations regarding hazards, unsafe conditions/practices and security.
b. Inspection findings will be sent to the department director, supervisor and facilities
management for the area where the hazard exists.
VII. WORKPLACE SECURITY
It is the County's policy to prohibit conduct that creates a threatening or intimidating work
environment. All employees are responsible to ensure that the workplace is free from conduct or
activities that are or may be perceived as threatening to an individual's physical safety. Refer to
County Policy HR2408 Recognizing and Reporting Threats and Violence in the Workplace for further
direction.
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Policy Title: Policy Number: A2234b
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION
Current Adoption
PROGRAM: INCIDENT/INVESTIGATION MM-DD-YYYY
Date:
Revision History
Version Revision Date Description of Revision
1 20 May 2015 Initial version. (C-49-15-061-6-00)
2 MM-DD-YYYY Modified the review committee to combine services of VUP and Workers’
Compensation incident reviews. Redefined membership of the Committee
and clarified procedures for the Committee. Removed § IX Workplace Safety
which is replaced by County Policy HR2408 Recognizing and Reporting
Violence in the Workplace (C-##-##-###-#-##).
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