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How to Write an Incident Report

Last Updated: February 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD . Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,223,043 times.

If you're a security guard or police officer deployed to the scene of an incident, writing up a detailed and accurate report is an important part of doing your job correctly. A good incident report gives a thorough account of what happened without glossing over unsavory information or leaving out important facts. It's crucial to follow the appropriate protocol, describe the incident clearly, and submit a polished report.

Things You Should Know

  • Get the correct forms from your institution. Pay attention to any special instructions since forms may vary slightly.
  • Note the time, date, and location of the incident on the form. Include your full name and ID number, as well.
  • Write a first person narrative explaining what happened at the scene. Be honest, clear, and concise.
  • Proofread your incident report and revise any mistakes before submitting it.

Incident Report Template and Example

writing a report on an incident

Following Protocol

Step 1 Obtain the proper forms from your institution.

  • Follow any instructions that accompany the forms. Each organization uses a different format, so pay attention to the guidelines.
  • In some cases you're responsible for filling out a form issued by your institution. In other cases you'll be asked to type or write up the report on your own.

Tip: If possible, do your write up using word processing software. It will look neater, and you'll be able to use spell check to polish it when you're finished. If you write your report by hand, print clearly instead of using cursive. Don't leave people guessing whether your 7s are actually 1s.

Step 2 Provide the basic facts.

  • The time, date and location of the incident (be specific; write the exact street address, etc.).
  • Your name and ID number.
  • Names of other members of your organization who were present

Step 3 Include a line about the general nature of the incident.

  • For example, you could write that you were called to a certain address after a person was reported for being drunk and disorderly.
  • Note that you should not write what you think might have happened. Stick to the facts, and be objective.

Step 4 Start the report as soon as possible.

Describing What Happened

Step 1 Write a first person narrative telling what happened.

  • Use the full names of each person included in the report. Identify all persons the first time they are cited in your report by listing: first, middle, and last names; date of birth, race, gender, and reference a government issued identification number. In subsequent sentences, you can then refer to them using just their first and last names: "Doe, John" or "John Doe". Start a new paragraph to describe each person's actions separately. Answer the who, what, when, where, and why of what happened.
  • For example, when the police officer mentioned above arrives at the residence where he got the call, he could say: "Upon arrival the officer observed a male white, now known as Doe, John Edwin; date of birth: 03/15/1998; California Driver's License 00789142536, screaming and yelling at a female white,know known as, Doe, Jane, in the front lawn of the above location (the address given earlier). The officer separated both parties involved and conducted field interviews. The officer was told by Mr. John Doe that he had came home from work and discovered that dinner was not made for him. He then stated that he became upset at his wife Mrs. Jane Doe for not having the dinner ready for him."
  • If possible, make sure to include direct quotes from witnesses and other people involved in the incident. For example, in the above scenario, the officer could write “Jane said to me ‘Johnny was mad because I didn’t have dinner ready right on time.'”
  • Include an accurate description of your own role in the course of what occurred. If you had to use physical force to detain someone, don't gloss over it. Report how you handled the situation and its aftermath.

Step 2 Be thorough.

  • For example, instead of saying “when I arrived, his face was red,” you could say, “when I arrived, he was yelling, out of breath, and his face was red with anger.” The second example is better than the first because there are multiple reasons for someone’s face to be red, not just that they are angry.
  • Or, instead of saying “after I arrived at the scene, he charged towards me,” you should say “when I arrived at the scene I demanded that both parties stop fighting. After taking a breath and looking at me, he began to run quickly towards me and held his hand up like he was about to strike me.”

Step 3 Be accurate.

  • For example, if a witness told you he saw someone leap over a fence and run away, clearly indicate that your report of the incident was based upon a witness account; it is not yet a proven fact.
  • Additionally, if you are reporting what the witness told you, you should write down anything that you remember about the witness's demeanor. If their statement's cause controversy later, your report can prove useful. For example, it would be helpful to know that a witness appeared excited while telling you what happened, or if they seemed very calm and evenhanded.

Step 4 Be clear.

  • Keep your writing clear and concise.
  • Additionally, do not use legal or technical words: For example, say “personal vehicle” instead of “P.O.V.” (personally owned vehicle), and “scene of the crime” instead of the typical numbered code that police typically use to notify others of their arrival.
  • Use short, to-the-point sentences that emphasize facts and that don't leave room for interpretation. Instead of writing "I think the suspect wanted to get back at his wife, because he seemed to have ill intentions when he walked up to her and grabbed her," write "The suspect [insert name] walked over to his wife [name] and forcefully grabbed her by the wrist."

Step 5 Be honest.

Polishing the Report

Step 1 Double check the basic facts.

  • Do not try to make sure that statements in your report match those of your colleagues. Individually filed reports guarantee that more than one account of an incident survives. Incident reports can appear later in a court of law. If you alter the facts of your report to match those of another, you can be penalized.

Step 2 Edit and proofread your report.

  • Check it one more time for spelling and grammar errors.
  • Remove any words that could be seen as subjective or judgmental, like words describing feelings and emotions.

Step 3 Submit your incident report.

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  • ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/work-incident-report
  • ↑ https://www.csus.edu/campus-safety/police-department/_internal/_documents/rwm.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.nfic.org/docs/WrittingEffectiveIncidentReports.pdf
  • ↑ https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/ctetechwriting/chapter/accident-and-incident-reports/
  • ↑ https://oer.pressbooks.pub/opentrailstechnicalwriting/chapter/writing-incident-reports/

About This Article

Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD

If you need to write an incident report, start writing down the basic facts you need to remember as soon as possible, so you don’t start to forget details. Include the time, date, and location of the incident, as well as your name and work ID number and the names of anyone else who was present. Start by describing the general nature of the incident, then write out a detailed, first-person account of what happened. Include as many details as you can. Keep reading for tips on editing and polishing your report. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Blog Human Resources

How to Write an Effective Incident Report [Templates]

By Victoria Clarke , Jun 13, 2023

How to Write an Effective Incident Report [Templates] Blog Header

We all do our best to ensure a happy and healthy workforce. That’s why, in a perfect world, you would never have to create an incident report.

But since incidents do happen, it’s never a bad idea to be prepared for any situation–especially the unexpected.  

Small business owners, human resources teams and workplace emergency first responders: this is the article for you! 

In this step-by-step guide, I’ll share our top tips on creating incident reports that will help you carry out effective investigations and make sure similar (or more serious) incidents don’t happen again.  I’ll also include our top incident report templates to get the job done.

Table of Contents:

  • What is an incident report?
  • Incident report examples, templates and design tips
  • Simple incident report template
  • COVID-19 employee incident report templates
  • How to write an incident report

writing a report on an incident

All of the templates in this post can be customized using our easy online  incident report maker  tool. It’s free to sign up, many of our templates are free to use too.

What is an incident report? 

An incident report is a form to document all workplace illnesses, injuries, near misses and accidents. An incident report should be completed at the time an incident occurs no matter how minor an injury is.

Here’s one example:

writing a report on an incident

Any illness or injury that impacts an employee’s ability to work must be noted. The specifics of what is required by law to be included in an incident report will vary depending on the federal or provincial legislation that affects your workplace.

If you’re unsure, you can take a look at your government’s website for more details. In certain cases, there are exceptions that can exempt small businesses from complying with such legislation. 

Employee Incident Report Template Venngage

Incident report examples and design tips

Here are some examples of types of incident reports to help you get started. I’ve also included some report design tips to help you present your information effectively. If you want to dig a bit deeper into the topic , here’s a comprehensive guide to general report design that I find handy.

Incorporate your branding into your report design

As with any document you create for your business, it’s good practice to incorporate your branding into your incident reports. (Psst– Venngage’s Brand Kit feature makes it easy to add your branding in just a click!) 

Include your brand colors in your design. You can do this by using them in the report header, footer, sidebar and in any visuals. 

You could use your brand colors in the background of your incident report:

writing a report on an incident

You may also want to include your logo, like in this incident report template : 

writing a report on an incident

Organize your information into sections using boxes

To make your information as readable as possible, organize it into sections. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using boxes.

For example, take a look at how these types of incident report templates use boxes to section off the information:

writing a report on an incident

This type of incident report example also uses rectangles to denote section headers:

Simple Incident Report Template

Color code the sections of your incident case report

Colors aren’t just great for making your reports , presentations and charts more interesting to look at. You can also use color to organize sections of your report and to draw attention to key information. 

For more tips on using color in your designs, read our guide on how to pick colors to communicate effectively .

writing a report on an incident

Add a visual header to your incident report

As part of your company branding, you may want to add a visual header to your reports. For example, this incident case report template uses a neutral photo with a color filter to create a professional header:

writing a report on an incident

You can do this in Venngage by overlaying a photo on a color background and adjusting the opacity of the photo: 

Image Opacity Venngage

You can use the same effect for sidebars as well: 

writing a report on an incident

Make a mock form to offer new team members as an example

If you’re transitioning in staff or something happens when the individual who owns incident reports is away, it’s very important that there is a process documented . That will ensure that if someone is put on the spot, they can fill in the incident report properly.

It can also be helpful to add brief descriptions of the information in the type of incident report to include in each field. Take a look at how this incident report example offers some brief text to guide the person filling it out:

writing a report on an incident

Use icons to visualize concepts

Icons are small, compact visuals that can be used to reinforce the information in your reports. You can also use them to draw attention to specific fields and important pieces of information. 

For example, this incident case report template uses icons to indicate the purpose of each field:

writing a report on an incident

How to write an incident report 

It’s important to establish a systematic method for investigating incidents.  

It’s also equally important to have a report prepared that enables you to record every relevant aspect of the incident details–this is the essential first step in the incident reporting process.  

After you’ve created your incident report form, you can: 

  • Begin your investigation with fact-finding 
  • And end your investigation with determining recommendations for preventing both an increase in the severity of the incident and the possibility of a recurrence.  

To write any incident case reports, follow the basic format described below.

writing a report on an incident

1. Take immediate action 

Employees of your organization should notify their manager or another member of the company’s leadership committee as soon as an incident occurs–regardless of the nature of the event (whether it be an accident, illness, injury or near miss).  

That being said, there need to be communication channels clearly defined to promote the practice of employees coming forward in these situations and the importance of such.

Once an incident has been reported, the member of leadership’s first responsibility is to ensure that appropriate treatment, if necessary, is being administered to those affected by the event.  

On this note: if the hazard still exists, the manager that the event has been reported to must eliminate the hazard by controlling it. Each company should have a defined procedure for accomplishing this based on the nature of their work. 

For example, if there was a spill that caused a fall. You would attend to the victim and promptly have the spill wiped up and identify the area as a hazard by using a sign.

2. Collect the facts 

Once the immediate action including the response to the event and eliminating the hazard from the environment has been conducted, it’s time to determine and record the facts related to the incident details. 

writing a report on an incident

9 facts related to the incident include: 

1. the basics.

Identify the specific location, time and date of the incident. This information is fundamental to the investigation and the most obvious information to collect. 

2. The affected

Collect details of those involved and/or affected by the incident. This would entail recording the name(s) of the individual(s) involved, their job title(s), the department(s) they operate in the manager(s) of those affected. 

3. The witnesses

Speak to any witnesses of the event to collect their perspectives of the event. Record their statements as detailed and accurate as possible in the form.  

To ensure accuracy, it’s best practice to review your notes with the witness to ensure they agree with how the event is portrayed in the report. It’s also important to include the name(s) of any witnesses in the report in case any additional questioning is required. 

4. The context

Consider and document the events that occurred leading up to the incident. Ask:

  • What was the employee doing? 
  • Who asked them to complete the task? How was the employee feeling prior to the incident? …etc. 

It is important to identify which factors were an outcome of the incident and which factors were present prior to the incident and could be a potential contributing factor to the incident occurring.

5. The actions

In the report, you must specify the actions of those involved at the time of the incident. What did the employee do that led to the incident? 

For example, if an employee injured their back when lifting a box at work, it is important to determine how that employee lifted the box to decide if that contributed to the injury. If yes, then inquire if this employee was trained properly for this task and by who or what source.  

6. The environment

Identify and record environmental conditions that contributed to the event. Was there inadequate lighting? Was a piece of equipment not operating properly? Was the employees’ visibility obstructed by a glare or blind spot? Etc. 

7. The injuries

Record detailed descriptions of specific injuries and evaluate the severity of such in the report. This description should include part(s) of the body injured, nature and extent of injuries. 

8. The treatment

It is also important to document in the incident case report the type of treatment administered for the acknowledged injuries. This information is important to document in order to understand how the employee recovers when reviewing the specifics of the event.

9. The damages

Record an account of any damage to equipment, materials, etc that was affected by the incident. This will be helpful to refer back during the analysis of the event in order to consider both a corrective action plan and to determine what items will need to be repaired or replaced. 

3. Analyze and reflect  

Collecting and recording the facts related to the occurrence of the incident will aid in determining how the incident occurred. Analyzing the collected facts related to the incident will aid in determining why the incident occurred. 

Analyzing and determining how and why the incident occurred is essential in order to develop an effective corrective action plan. 

Potential causes for accidents or injuries that occurred in the workplace could include: 

  • Primary causes (for example, an unsalted ice patch on a set of stairs that caused a slip and fall). 
  • Secondary causes (for example, an employee not wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, such as a hard helmet or eyewear).
  • Other contributing causes (for example: a burned-out light bulb in the area causing poor visibility). 

writing a report on an incident

4. Establish a corrective action plan 

A corrective action plan would provide recommendations as a means to reduce the possibility of a continued issue and/or recurrence of the incident details. The recommendations would result from an effective analysis of the facts collected and documented in the incident report. 

Elements of an effective corrective action plan could include: 

  • Occupational Health & Safety training for employees 
  • Preventative routine maintenance processes that ensure equipment is in proper working condition 
  • A review of job practices and procedures with a recommendation for changes to reduce the risk of incidents 
  • Conducting a job hazard analysis to determine if other potential hazards are associated with the task and/or environment and then training employees on these hazards based on the findings of the assessment 
  • Engineering, equipment or PPE changes/upgrades to ensure the task or the process of completing said task poses less risk

writing a report on an incident

Incident report examples

Covid-19 employee incident report template.

writing a report on an incident

Blue healthcare employee critical incident report template

writing a report on an incident

Although being prepared for the unexpected is often difficult, preventative measures are the cornerstone of maintaining a happy and healthy working environment for yourself and your workforce.  

Incident reports are not only a defining piece in any company’s incident response protocol, but they provide a means to avoid recurring mishaps and/or inspire change. 

That’s why it is crucial to have a relevant and comprehensive incident report form prepared and on hand for any incident details that may arise. By adhering to your jurisdiction’s legislation and considering the four components prescribed above, you’ll be well-prepared to handle incidents effectively.

The effect of responding to workplace incidents in a timely and detail-oriented manner will not only ensure a safe workplace but also: 

  • Reassure your employees that their employer is prepared to take the right steps in any situation 
  • Ensure all appropriate parties are fully informed of incidents 
  • Establish a record of incidents for future reference 
  • Protect both you/your company and your employees from lawsuits and disputes

FAQs about incident reports

What is the purpose of incident reporting.

An incident report is used to describe an event that requires an investigation that needs to be documented.

Types of incident reports

  • Accident Reports
  • Workplace Incident Report

What are the 4 types of incidents?

Commonly, incidents can be categorized into four main types:

  • Accidents: Involving unintended harm, damage or injury.
  • Near Misses: Situations where an accident could have occurred but was narrowly avoided.
  • Unsafe Conditions: Reports about hazardous or unsafe environments that need attention.
  • Unsafe Acts: Documenting incidents involving violations of safety procedures or rules.

Incident reports generally cover a variety of situations and the specific types may vary based on context and industry. It’s important to note that these categories can overlap and the classification may differ depending on the reporting system or industry standards.

What are the 5 elements of a good incident report ?

A well-structured incident report typically includes the following five key elements:

  • Date, time and location: Provide specific details about when and where the incident occurred. This helps establish a timeline and context for understanding the event.
  • Description of the incident: Clearly describe what happened, including relevant details such as the sequence of events, the people involved and any contributing factors. Use objective language and avoid assumptions or opinions.
  • Witness information: Include names and contact information for any witnesses to the incident. Their accounts can provide valuable perspectives and corroborate details.
  • Action taken: Outline any immediate actions taken to address the incident, such as first aid, evacuation procedures or contacting emergency services. Documenting these responses is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of the initial response.
  • Recommendations for prevention: Offer suggestions on how similar incidents can be prevented in the future. This proactive approach demonstrates a commitment to improving safety and mitigating risks.

More HR guides and templates:

  • 12 Powerful Performance Review Examples (+ Expert Tips By an HR Manager)
  • 17 Essential Human Resources Poster Templates

1 st Reporting

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How To Write An Incident Report In 11 Steps (Complete Easy 2023 Guide)

Posted 18.01.21 by: Bond Seidel

How To Write An Incident Report

If you’re wondering how to write an incident report, you’ve come to the right place. Writing incident reports is an essential stage of any company’s health and safety program, so correctly writing the report is essential. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the vital steps to writing your incident report efficiently and effectively on the first try.

Writing a valuable and comprehensive incident report is easily accomplished in 11 steps. With some critical points included, writing an incident report will soon be second nature to you (but we hope you don’t have to write too many).

We’ll start by examining the three primary considerations we have to make before writing an incident report. These include choosing the correct category and type of incident report, what relevant information to include in the report, and legal concerns with incident report contents. Then we’ll write the IR (incident Report) step by step. So, keep reading for everything you need to know about writing an incident report.

Table of Contents

Before You Begin: 3 Things To Consider About How To Write An Incident Report

  • Incident Report Definition And Type Selection
  • Relevant Information To Include In Your Incident Report
  • Legal Concerns With Incident Report Contents

Explore the following three sections to determine what you need to consider before we dive into how to write your report. Keep in mind that these three considerations are not to be confused with the three requirements for writing an incident report:

  • The report must be factual and without assumption.
  • An incident report must be accurate and without bias.
  • The incident report must be complete.

If you’re looking for more information about precisely what needs to be included in an incident report , you should read our article specializing in the subject: 12 Things To Include In An Incident Report (With 5 Tips)

Now that we’ve clarified needs versus considerations for our incident report let’s move on to those considerations.

1) Incident Report Definition And Type Selection

With so many industries in our modern society, it stands to reason that there would also be several incident report types. However, depending on the industry, some may have different definitions for what classifies as an incident.

Some of the more common categories of incident reports, with a few examples of each, are as follows.

  • Employee Injury Report
  • Near Miss Report
  • Vehicle Accident Report
  • Chemical Spill Incident Report
  • Asbestos Exposure Incident Report (also classified as a human resources report)

As you may have gleaned from the above categories, your definition of an incident may have a different meaning depending on whether you’re referring to a vehicle, person, property, or something else. However, we can assume that an incident constitutes any situation where injury or damage could occur to a person, thing, or property.

Depending on the incident report type, you may find that you must file some reports with the authorities within a specific time. Take a vehicular accident report in New York, for example. If there is injury (or death) or damage over $1000, all drivers involved must file an accident report within ten days from the incident’s date. ( source )

For more information about definitions of the incident and the differences between an incident and an accident, look at our article Incident Report Vs. Accident Report – Differences For Business.

2) Relevant Information To Include In Your Incident Report

You must include several things in each incident report, no matter the type of incident. However, we can make some general assumptions about what information is required. Here’s a quick run-down of what you need to include:

  • Affected people, property, or business units
  • Description of injuries, damage, or hazard
  • Date, time, and location of the incident or hazard
  • Events leading up to the incident or hazard (if applicable)
  • Local conditions that may have affected the incident
  • Resolutions to the incident or hazard and further recommendations.
  • Witness and report writer information, including contact information

The above inclusions to the incident report are similar to the nine contents of a police report, according to Nolo’s information on the contents of a police report. ( source )

Including the items listed above will ensure that your incident report includes the information needed to be effective. Just remember to pay attention to each section of the unique report type you are completing if there is further information called for on the report that is not listed above, as will be the case in any situation where customized or unique events transpire that require incident reporting.

For a more in-depth look at the Incident Reporting process, read about The Incident Report And The Disclosure Process here.

An example Security Incident Report by 1stReporting.com.

Are you looking for a solution for your incident and inspection reporting?

Let’s move on to the process of completing the report. Using a method and adopting uniform procedures ensures all staff receive equal training and understand their roles and steps required for your health and safety incident reporting practices.

Before you start writing, consider the legalities for a moment.

3) Legal Concerns With Incident Report Contents

There is no shortage of lawsuits resulting from workplace incidents in the United States and other countries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019 in the United States, private industry nonfatal injuries in the workplace were reported to be 2.8 million . That’s an awful lot of injuries and an awful lot of potential litigation.

So, how do companies protect themselves? The first step is to ensure that incident reports are filled out honestly and to the best of the reporter’s ability. But there’s more to it, especially if an injury or incident at work lands your company (or you) in court.

According to Immix Law, simply stamping confidential on an incident report won’t protect your company from having to divulge said document in court. The document must qualify as a “work product” under the Work Product Doctrine in many US states. ( source )

The incident report must meet three criteria to qualify as a work product. The incident report has to be:

  • Documents or tangible things
  • Prepared by a party or its representative
  • In anticipation of litigation

As you can see, most incident reports fall short of being classified as documents created in anticipation of litigation. The kicker makes it challenging to keep these documents suppressed should a situation end up in court. After all, these documents are typically a part of everyday business, not prepared in anticipation of legal action.

The bottom line is that you must know what is written in the report. It exemplifies that an intelligent health and safety program includes Near Miss , Safety Leading Indicators , and Dangerous Situation reports at the minimum to aid in incident preventive actions. After all, if you can prevent incidents in the first place, you don’t have to worry about writing too many incident reports in the first place.

Remember to check with your lawyer for all the requirements in your state for reporting incidents, as this article does not constitute legal advice.

Tip: It’s a smart idea to include screening documentation in your incident reporting program to help maintain a safe and healthy work environment in these trying times we live in.

Writing An Incident Report In 11 Steps

Now that you’re prepared and armed with the knowledge of incident report types, data to include, and legalities to keep in mind. So, what is the first step in writing an incident report? The first step to writing an incident report is to determine the appropriate type of report based on the incident type.

Learn more about incident management and streamlining your management here.

1) Obtain The Appropriate Incident Report Type.

Our incident report writing journey begins with the selection of the appropriate document. Your company should have procedures in place for incidents and also have the proper documentation. If you aren’t sure, ask your manager which forms or reports you need for your situation.

You’ll find multiple Incident Report Templates here if you require a downloadable template to get you started.

2) Complete The Administrative Section Of The Report.

The administrative section, located at the top of the report, is shown in this example Near Miss Incident Report.

The administrative section of your incident report will detail your name, location, time, date, and other information required on your incident report. Notice the cutaway of a near-miss report shown above. The first section of the IR is where the administrative report information is.

3) Completely Fill In Any Victim Information (If Applicable).

You must record the victim’s information if the incident report type is an injury. Take a look at the following cutaway from a generic Employee Injury Report. As you can see, the injured team member’s information, in this case, is included below the administrative area of the report.

An incident report part of an Employee Injury Report is shown in this file photo.

4) Completely Fill In Any Witness Information (If Applicable).

Any witness or witnesses present for the incident should have their names and contact information recorded if someone needs to contact them at a later date.

5) Complete Any Section Of The Incident Report About Emergency Services Contacted.

How To Write An Incident Report

A significant, if not essential, part of the incident report includes emergency service information when these services are involved. If someone calls the police, you should report the names, badge numbers, and division numbers of officers attending. If an injury results in emergency health care, the clinic, hospital, or other emergency service location where a person is taken or sent needs recording.

6) Detail The Events That Led Up To The Incident Occurring.

In many cases where an event occurs that deems an incident report warranted, the incident is often preventable. Investigating the root causes (root cause analysis) can reveal how someone could prevent the incident. Using Safety Leading Indicators to aid in this process is recommended.

For the details leading up to the incident, try to explain all the events that led up to the incident in as great detail as possible. Remember that there are a few trivial points, and some details may seem more relevant in hindsight, so ensure to include everything you can.

7) Detail The Environment And Conditions Present At The Time Of The Incident.

Sometimes incidents are no-fault and caused by environmental conditions. Even the first person on the scene might fall on the way to get sand or salt to clear the ice when it’s icy on the ground. When these uncontrollable incidents occur, or any incident for that matter, it is essential to note any environmental conditions that may have contributed to or even caused the incident. It could be poor visibility, icy or slippery ground, or other atmospheric and environmental conditions that may have contributed.

8) Detail The Incident Itself, Noting Who Or What Was Affected.

How To Write An Incident Report

The meat and potatoes of the incident report include the detail of the incident itself. In this section, one must pay close attention to detail and avoid including emotion. It can be easy to incorrectly assess a situation during tense incidents and place blame before finding the truth.

When recording the details of the incident, you should attempt to write in an impartial encyclopedic fashion. Detail notes from the third person, adding descriptiveness to the narrative without including personal thoughts, feelings, or suspicions. An unbiased report does not blame individuals; it merely records the events as truthfully as possible.

If a drawing, pictures, video, or other media is available, it is always prudent to include more details. However, a digital reporting solution like the 1 ST Incident Reporting App can include digital media files to improve your incident reporting.

9) Detail The Actions Taken To Mitigate Hazards And Contain The Situation.

How To Write An Incident Report

A vital component of the incident reporting process includes the steps taken to mitigate a hazard, help an injured person, or other actions to control and aid in preventing further injury or damage from the incident.

Remember the part about the legal ramifications of what we write in the report? If a person is injured and you don’t write down how you provided the aid, you have no record of helping them.

10) Detail Any Recommendations Or Preventive Actions Required.

How To Write An Incident Report

Like the section on immediate actions taken, we must transcribe any recommended further measures to mitigate hazards. These actions are those that cannot be quickly or easily implemented by the person writing the report. It might include fabricating new machine guards or obtaining traffic lights and sensors for a parking garage entrance. There are many possibilities here; the point is to attempt to do what we can to help prevent further incidents from occurring.

11) Finalize The Incident Report And Sign-off On Its Completion.

The incident report should now be complete. Any incident report’s finalization process should include a quick verification that all necessary information is on the IR. Also, the three considerations before writing ought to find their way into your mind while you read over your report.

A Final Thought On Writing Incident Reports

A concise and encompassing health and safety reporting process is a necessity in today’s world of business. Liability mitigation is imperative for business today, with so many possible incidents. And what better way to aid in incident prevention than by using an efficient reporting system?

If your business isn’t using a digital solution for incident reporting, you’re missing out on a much more efficient way of preventing and documenting incidents. Click here to learn more about creating incident reports and incident management in the workplace .

Take the 1 ST Reporting App , for example. We’ve created a system to aid your business in making the reporting process simple for your staff. With features like near-instant custom notifications, easy document retrieval, and simple supplemental media uploading, a digital reporting solution’s effectiveness over a paper-based process is evident.

  • Featured photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels .
  • https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv-records/how-file-motorist-accident-report
  • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/car-accidents-police-reports.html
  • https://immixlaw.com/preparing-your-incident-reports/
  • https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf

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How to write an incident report?

incident reporting form

Even with all the safety measures in place, safety incidents can still happen. The big question is: how do you learn from them?

The answer lies in the incident report.

An incident report is a written account of a situation that has occurred. It provides a record of events that led up to an accident, as well as its immediate aftermath.

The primary purpose of writing an incident report is to learn from the mistakes and prevent the recurrence of the same kind of incident in future. This is especially important if there are injuries involved, as it will help workers understand how they can avoid similar accidents in the future. It also helps management understand what went wrong and how they can improve their policies or procedures so that workers are safer in the future.

An incident report is necessary when:

  • There’s a serious injury to any employee or customer (or a visitor).
  • An accident causes major damage to equipment or property.
  • An accident caused by someone else’s carelessness or negligence — even if it’s a near-miss.
  • Any other situation where you feel that an accident could have caused significant harm or concerns regarding the safety of employees, vendors, customers or any other people in the vicinity.

Watch Safetymint in action

Download free incident report template. available as word, excel or pdf formats., what should you include in an incident report.

An incident report is necessary to record anything from a minor mishap to a major accident and should include all relevant information such as who was involved, what happened and when it happened.

A basic incident report should contain answers to the following questions:.

What happened?

Make sure you include all the details, such as who was involved and what was damaged, lost or destroyed.

incident classification

When & where did it happen?

Your report should contain the date, time and location where the accident took place. If your company uses a system to track such information, try using that same system for your reports.

Who were involved?

Include other people who were present at the time of the incident or accident and what they did at the time of the incident. This will help determine how exactly the incident happened and any other secondary contributing factors.

What did they do?

Detail out what each of those persons was doing just before, during and after the incident. This is an important detail to help you get down to the bottom of the incident and truly understand the root cause.

Why did it happen?

Your report should explain why the accident occurred so that anyone reading it can understand how it happened and what could have been done differently to prevent it from occurring again.

Were there any witnesses?

You’ll need witness statements from the people nearby and any other involved parties to help explain an event or clarify who was involved.

What is the extent of damage to a person or property?

This would include the severity of the incident as well as any person or equipment damaged in the incident and the follow-up treatment.

Step-by-step process to write an incident report

Collect, Verify & Organize Data

1. Collect the information

The first step is to collect all the relevant information. This includes all the details of the incident, including wh en it occurred, where it took place, what happened and how many people were affected. You should also include any photos or video evidence that could be relevant. You can use checklists or an incident reporting software like Safetymint to help you collect the necessary data.

Collect, Verify & Organize Data

2. Establish the order of events

Once you have collected all the information about an incident, you need to determine exactly what happened. An effective incident report starts with a summary of what transpired, followed by a description of each event in chronological order. The order of events is crucial because it helps investigators determine whether there is any pattern to the problem and how to fix it.

Collect, Verify & Organize Data

3. Analyze the root cause

After determining the exact sequence in which the incident occurred, you need to analyze the root cause of this problem to identify ways of preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.

The analysis can also include a review of previous incidents that were similar in nature and frequency leading up to this particular incident. This will help you understand if there is a common cause for all these events or not.

Collect, Verify & Organize Data

4. Formulate corrective action

With the root cause of the event clear, you can then discuss to formulate corrective and preventive action (CAPA) to avoid a similar incident in the future. These corrective actions should be based on past experiences and lessons learned rather than just assumptions or guesses.

You can also involve other team members or stakeholders who may know about preventing such events from reoccurring in the future. All of these information will be helpful for the investigative team to understand what went wrong and suggest recommendations

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Best practices to follow when writing an incident report

A good incident report should include as many details as possible about the event. Here are some tips for writing an effective incident report:

Describe what happened in detail

Include all facts related to the incident, such as who was involved, when and where it took place, how many people were involved and what they were doing at the time of the accident.

For example, if someone fell from scaffolding due to faulty equipment or improper use of equipment, provide as much information about what the person was doing, the equipment they were handling and the safety protocols followed/neglected — so that others can learn from it and avoid similar mistakes in the future.

writing a report on an incident

Be objective when describing events

Don’t editorialize or speculate about why something happened — simply state what happened and how it affected you or others involved in the accident.

The most important thing about being objective is not allowing emotion to cloud your judgment. Write down what you saw and heard, not what you thought or felt at the time. Avoid making assumptions and using words like “I think” or “I believe” when describing the events.

Be as thorough and accurate as possible, but avoid going into excessive detail about things like how you felt during the incident or what others said afterwards.

Use simple language

Your goal should be for anyone who reads your report to understand exactly what happened without needing any additional context or background information. So avoid using complex phrases or technical terms unless necessary. Otherwise, stick with simple language and avoid using abbreviations or acronyms unless they are widely accepted within your industry.

Include photos, if possible

If the incident caused physical damage, take photos so they can be included with your report. Photos will help show any damages or injuries resulting from the situation and clarify any questions about what happened during the incident.

How Safetymint can help in reporting incidents

Safetymint is an online incident management system developed to help organizations manage safety incidents, observations and near misses . It improves your safety culture by getting more people involved in reporting incidents and it enables you to gather the right data to make better decisions.

Instant reporting

Safetymint offers a simple & quick process for reporting incidents, which helps ensure that all necessary details are captured and recorded correctly. Employees can report hazards themselves through their mobile phones or computers anywhere and at any time.

No prior training

Safetymint has an intuitive interface that’s direct and simple enough that anyone with a smartphone or access to a computer can quickly report the incidents — without any prior training.

writing a report on an incident

Overall dashboard view

The safety dashboard allows you to track your leading and lagging indicators at one glance to monitor performance and take corrective action wherever necessary. This will help you develop effective solutions for reducing injuries and improving overall workplace health and safety performance.

Custom investigation workflow

Safetymint includes a 5-step incident investigation process which includes the following steps: Incident reporting , Setting up and investigation team, Root cause analysis , Recommended actions and Review and Closure. This process can be used for both internal as well as external investigations.

Capture incidents and near-misses with accuracy.

Resolve incident with a 5-step incident investigation process. Available both on Mobile and Desktop browsers.

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What is an incident report?

How to write an incident report, top 5 platforms for creating effective incident reports.

An incident report is a form used to record workplace accidents, injuries, illnesses or near misses. It’s very important to submit an incident report when an incident happens, regardless of whether it caused any injuries to employees. That’s because an incident report helps you uncover the circumstances and conditions that led to the event so you can make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Record the basic facts

Start by recording basic facts related to the incident. These include:

  • Type of incident: Illness, injury, theft, near miss or property damage
  • Location of incident
  • Date and time

Note affected individuals

Collect and record details such as names, job titles, departments and any other useful information about those involved or affected by the incident.

Find witnesses

Collect details of any witnesses of the event and record their statements as detailed and accurate as possible.

Create a narrative description of the incident

Document the sequence of events that led to the incident. It’s important to specify the actions of those involved at the time of the incident. This will help you identify which factors were present before the incident and could be a potential contributing factor to the incident occurring.

Some factors to consider:

  • What did the employee do?
  • Who trained the employee or who asked them to complete the task?
  • How was the employee feeling before the incident?
  • For example: Was there a burned-out light bulb? Was a piece of equipment faulty? Was there a blind spot in the area causing the employee poor visibility?
  • Was the employee wearing appropriate personal protective equipment?

Note the injuries

If any injuries were incurred, give a detailed description and include parts of the body injured as well as the nature and severity of the injuries.

Record the treatment

Document the type of treatment administered for the acknowledged injuries so you can follow up with the employee’s progress and recovery when reviewing the specifics of the event.

Indicate damages

Record and account for any damage to equipment and materials that were affected by the incident to determine what items will need to be repaired or replaced.

Establish a corrective action plan

Analyze the facts collected and documented in the incident report and determine a corrective action plan. A corrective action plan provides recommendations for preventing the possibility of both an increase in the severity of the incident and the recurrence of the incident.

Below are five well-known and widely utilized incident report software solutions to help you quickly record any incidents as soon as they occur. These incident templates are designed to capture a comprehensive and precise account of the situation, resulting in swift and informed decisions.

SEE: The COVID-19 gender gap: Why women are leaving their jobs and how to get them back to work (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Jotform is a free platform that lets you create custom online incident reports from your smartphone or tablet. The form is easy to fill out and you can customize it in just a few clicks.

With Jotform, you can gather important digital documents as well as collect files and electronic signatures from clients, coworkers and colleagues. There’s a Form Builder feature that offers a variety of unique form fields designed to get you the data you need. Other features include kiosk mode, geolocation fields and offline data collection.

Smartsheet is a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. The platform offers roll-up reports, dashboards and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

Smartsheet free templates can be used to report various types of events including accidents, injuries, workplace incidents, property loss or damage, and close calls. The forms allow you to record information and key metrics about all parties involved, details of the incident itself, any law enforcement interaction, witness information and any medical treatment administered.

With Smartsheet you can get real-time visibility and it’s easy to plan, capture, manage and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done.

1st Reporting

1st Reporting is an all-in-one incident reporting software that empowers your field team with the tools they need to generate actionable reports to identify problem areas in their day-to-day operations. The cloud-based solution allows your in-field teams to log reports in real-time online from any device, which in turn helps get their jobs done quicker and safer.

The solution offers an incident reporting dashboard so all your reports are in one place. You can create customized inspection and incident report forms to capture the data you need from your team in the field.

You also get incident notifications and data insights so you can monitor incidents, respond and take action from your smartphone or desktop.

Delinea, previously known as ThycoticCentrify, is an innovative and intuitive platform that offers a customizable cybersecurity incident report template.

Delinea’s incident response plan templates help keep detailed records of breaches in your organization. Keeping these records can enable your incident response teams to reduce the risk of a breach from becoming a catastrophe and maintain your business continuity.

The templates also come with customization instructions for assembling an incident response team, a checklist of roles and responsibilities and details for actionable steps to measure the extent of a cyber security incident.

monday offers simple yet powerful incident templates that let you easily keep track of your incidents.

monday incident templates offer an agile, responsive, flexible way of recording everything from facts about the process of the incident to sorting or filtering your data. This helps provide greater insight into your incidents and you can easily highlight your most common root causes and the severity of your most common

The forms are highly customizable so you can add action items, reorder based on priority and create a tailored plan to fit your needs.

monday also provides a dashboard where you can assign team members to each action item and monitor your plan’s progress at every stage. You can also receive incident reports and you can also create and share a corrective action plan with your team on the dashboard.

A major benefit of using this template is you can export to Excel with just one click, and you can also import your Excel spreadsheet easily. You can also integrate monday with other existing tools such as Jira, GitLab or BugHerd, and they will automatically update your incident report templates.

Incident reports are a critical component of any company’s incident response plan. They serve as a means for creating a Corrective Action Plan to avoid repeat mistakes. Using the above applications will ensure you always have relevant and thorough incident report templates ready and available to capture details of any incident that may arise.

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How to create an incident report (best practices & templates).

writing a report on an incident

It would be nice if we existed in a wonderful land of sunshine and rainbows, where no one ever got hurt and nothing ever went wrong, but it only takes one look at the news to know that’s not happening any time soon.

Things go wrong. It’s a part of life. Every single day cars crash, printers malfunction, roofs collapse and workplace injuries of all shapes and sizes occur around the globe.

Since incidents do happen, it’s a good idea to be prepared for any situation that may arise. It’s like when it rains—you can’t control the weather, but you can sure carry an umbrella.

Whether you’re battling the weather or workplace safety, being prepared is half the battle. In this blog post we’ll outline how to create an incident report to help ensure your work environment is safe and you're prepared when incidents inevitably occur.

What is an incident report?

An incident report is a form used to record the details of any event that caused or might have caused injury, illness or damage to a person or piece of company property.

Incident report forms usually relate to an accident or injury occurring in the workplace, but can be used for a variety of reasons, from near misses and property damage to health and safety issues, security breaches and workplace misconduct.

They are an essential tool in the investigation that takes place when things go wrong. For example, after the Rebellion destroyed the Death Star at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope , the Empire would have had his hands full with lots of incident reports.

They aim to determine the facts of the event, locate the root cause of the incident and help you figure out corrective actions that could remove potential risks and stop the same type of incident happening in the future.

Incident forms can also be used as preventative reports to highlight any potential hazards found in your workplace and stop incidents before they happen—it’s like that Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report , where they stop crimes before they take place.

The best thing about incident reports is that they’re democratic. Any employee can fill one out whether something has happened to them, they have witnessed something happen to a co-worker, or want to raise awareness about something they think could be hazardous and lead to an incident in the future.

While the idea is simple to get your head around, there are certain things you have to include if you want to write an effective incident report. This way you can ensure the safety, morale and productivity of your employees .

The key elements of a good incident report

There are lots of features that combine to make a well-written incident report. But the first and most important is that you take immediate action. Whether someone stubbed their toe or a more serious workplace incident has taken place, you need to write the report as soon as the event occurs.

By starting straight away you’ll get a more accurate depiction of what happened from any witnesses and victims. Not only that, depending on where you live, there’s a chance you’re legally bound to complete the incident reporting process in a certain period of time.

Once you start, there’s one word to keep in mind: details .

Your main responsibility when writing an incident report is noting down every minute detail you can think of. You know that grandparent you have that takes three hours to recount a story because they’re bogged down in every little thing? That needs to be you.

Here's a quick overview of the kind of details to include:

  • The type of incident
  • A general description of the incident (written as a sequence of events)
  • The date and time of the incident
  • The full names and details of any witnesses and/or victims
  • Witness statements
  • Any medical treatment required
  • Photo or video evidence of evidence/damage/wrongdoing

If you’re in doubt whether to add something, the general rule is to just add it. Have you ever seen a crime movie where the detective says, “Geez, I wish we had less evidence”? No. It doesn't exist. You never know what seemingly insignificant thing might come in handy in the future.

Speaking of law enforcement, remember that you’re not there to hunt for suspects or lead a witch hunt. It's not a police report . If someone is at fault you can follow up in the future, but when you’re writing your report it’s your job to get an objective description of the incident . That’s all.

Plus, if you’re throwing accusations around and looking for someone to blame, the chances are your employees won’t want to participate in the investigation or provide honest witness statements.

Concentrate on the facts and try not to get caught up in feelings and opinions. People have a right to be angry or upset when something goes wrong, whether it’s a minor injury or something more serious, but emotions tend to obscure the truth.

An easy way to avoid inaccuracy is by sticking to the essential questions - who, what, when, why, where and how. These will probably ring a bell from your childhood English class. Ask not only the people who were injured or involved, but also any witnesses that happened to be at the location of the incident.

Be sure to include plenty of photos, videos, diagrams and even illustrations as evidence. Smartphones make this easy, so there's no excuse. Take photos of the injury, the damage, the guy standing around sipping his latte—anything and everything.

Visual evidence trumps most other forms of record-keeping because it’s nearly impossible to argue with. People can rescind statements or fight over the details of what happened, so it helps to have things on camera. It’s a safety net for both you and your employees.

The icing on the cake of a good incident report is validation. No, not the kind where someone says you look nice. This is where you get everyone involved in the incident (e.g. victims, witnesses, managers, human resources etc.) to sign off on the report. By doing so they’re validating that, as far as they know, the incident report is completely accurate.

To sum that all up in easy-to-digest dot points, when writing your incident report you should make sure it’s:

  • Supported by visual evidence

Why is correct incident reporting so important?

When done correctly incident reports promote, encourage and improve workplace safety. They help your business stand out from the pack by creating a safe working environment and a great culture for your employees to work and flourish in. This happens in a few ways.

Discouraging improper actions

Incident reports encourage or discourage actions when they happen. Let’s say one of your employees on a job site forgot to wear the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). By documenting and reporting the details you can figure out what measures need to be taken and how it can be avoided next time.

Through the incident reporting process you highlight the seriousness of what has taken place - even if someone hasn’t been hurt. This acts as a reminder to other employees that safety is serious, and events need to be reported no matter the outcome.

Of course there is also the additional benefit of making sure that correct medical treatment is offered as soon as possible. Having staff aware of incident reporting processes increases the chance of proper first aid being administered immediately.

Hazard awareness

Incident reports also call attention to potential threats, risks and hazards and put them on the radar of all employees within your organization. Doing so allows you to put measures in place to prevent or mitigate danger as much as possible. This makes incident reporting a particularly important tool for high-risk construction, manufacturing and mining industries.

Even offices, where seemingly the biggest ‘danger’ is the local café running out of almond milk, can be full of potential threats like loose cables, faulty machines and equipment, poor employee behaviour and incorrect PPE.

Making sure your incident reporting system is correct helps you understand hazards, put procedures in place to deal with them and teaches employees to spot threats and deal with them as soon as possible.

Improving safety processes

A good incident report shows what your organization needs to focus on fixing. It gives you insights into processes that need to change, improve or be kicked to the curb. Maybe you need to implement new policies and regulations. Maybe you need to train your employees in certain skills, or provide them with better equipment.

Whatever the case, with a proper incident report you’ll be able to assess your needs and adapt your processes depending on what findings you make. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to assess how these changes have contributed positively or negatively to the safety and quality of the workplace.

Types of incidents that need to be reported

As you can imagine there’s a huge array of incidents that should be reported. This includes everything from fatalities and minor injuries to property damage and things that didn't actually happen at all.

If you’re serious about workplace safety (which of course you are) all employees, managers and safety supervisors need to be aware of incidents that have to be reported.

Let’s take a look at a few of the main incident reports that you need to familiarize yourself with.

Injury incident report

No matter what you do, sometimes injuries happen that require on-site treatment or a trip to the hospital. Most of the time things will be sorted with a band-aid from the first aid kit and workers can return to work immediately, but sometimes more serious injuries occur.

Whether it’s a minor injury or something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre , it’s vital that you create a comprehensive incident report. If you work in an industry that’s vulnerable to physical injuries of all kinds, like construction, you better get used to filling these in.

When creating an injury incident report, concentrate on a description of the incident, try to include lots of photos and record whether proper PPE gear and protocols were followed.

injury incident report form

Near miss incident report.

Near miss reports are for when someone could have been injured or property could have been damaged, but through pure luck it didn’t happen.

Let’s say someone in the office spills a glass of water and doesn’t clean it up. You slip on the puddle, but manage to catch yourself before falling over. Yes you’ve saved yourself from an embarrassing fall, but you’ve also had a near miss. Time to create an incident report.

These reports are important to mitigate future risks and prevent more serious events from taking place. Make sure to note the time and date of  the incident, details about the hazard and if any other people were involved.

near miss incident report form

Employee misconduct incident report.

An employee misconduct form is something that hopefully you won’t have to deal with. It is a type of incident report reserved for when an employee has violated company policy. This could be anything from sharing private company information on social media to abusing or sexually assaulting a colleague.

As a general rule this form should be filled out and sent to your human resources department . Usually these will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, unless the accusation is serious, then it can be forwarded to law enforcement.

For that reason the report needs to be extra detailed. Include extensive information about the misconduct or allegation, include witness testimony and any supporting evidence like video footage, emails or text messages.

Want to make your own incident report today?

Try Paperform for free

Accident report

While an incident refers to any event big or small, intended or otherwise, an accident is an event caused by a mistake or plain old bad luck. Accident reports cover events like fires, car accidents, equipment malfunctions and when Karen from accounting spills her smoothie.

Accidents are the most common report you’ll fill out because most people don’t intend to do the wrong thing or hurt themselves. But just because they don’t mean to doesn’t mean there's no value for your business.

Let’s say someone forgets to wear their hardhat on a job site and hits their head. That was an accident - they didn’t mean to forget their hat and certainly didn’t mean to bang their head. But what can this tell you about your processes? Maybe you need to store hats in a more obvious location? Or maybe you need to have the foreman check PPE before work?

Accident incident reports (say that five times fast) are one of the best ways to assess your workplace safety processes and minimize the potential hazards and risks your employees face.

accident report form

Exposure incident report.

A couple of years ago, an exposure incident report was a niche report type used in the scientific and healthcare fields to report exposure to dangerous chemicals and pathogens.

But 2020 was a special year for many reasons and low and behold, thanks to COVID-19, exposure incident reports are now the 'it' thing in the incident reporting world. With countries on lockdown, over a million global deaths and large and small companies being affected around the world, tracking and monitoring instances of Coronavirus exposure is extremely important.

If someone is even suspected of having COVID-19 you should write an exposure incident report straight away. Make sure you mark down any colleagues that came into contact with the person, as well as the exact time, date and location so you can track the spread of the virus.

This ensures you’ll keep your workplace - and the wider world - safe, healthy and coronavirus-free. (COVID-19 is stressful to deal with. If you need any COVID-19 forms, we have a whole collection to help you out ).

first aid report form

Incident report template.

No one wants to sit down and fill out an ugly, boring paper document. The easier your forms are to fill out, the more effective they'll be at capturing information accurately. Paperless is the future. That's where Paperform comes in.

Paperform’s sample incident report template makes it easy to create your own report that's relevant to your field, customized with your brand logo and colors and a breeze for your employees to fill in.

incident report form

If you haven't written an incident report before, the template above is pre-filled with relevant questions to give you an idea of what to ask. You can use different text fields to collect different forms of information - from email addresses and specific dates to long responses and Yes/No buttons to speed up the process.

The Yes/No option seems simple, but it allows what's called conditional logic to make the form magically adapt to the answer it receives. Let's say you include the question, 'Were there any injuries?'

You can set it up so the respondent sees different options depending on how they answer. If they answer 'Yes' the form will add a box for them to describe the injury, as well as an option to upload images as supporting evidence. If they answer no, they'll be able to move on to the next question.

Another feature is the ability to add esignatures to your form . This allows employees filling out the form to fill out the form and verify their statements in the same place without having to go through a third-party app like DocuSign or the rigmarole of printing, signing and re-uploading it.

Once you're happy with your questions you can customize the form to your liking. Add your brand logo, tweak the colors and fonts and set up an automatic email to explain the next steps to respondents. You can then export your incident report to a third-party app like Google Sheets to analyze your data with the click of a button.

Paperform helps make the incident reporting process more dynamic and intuitive for your respondents. Whether you use the above template to get started or start with a blank canvas, Paperform will help save you time, simplify processes and allow you to concentrate on making your workplace as safe as possible.

Why not get started today with our 14-day free trial ? No credit card required.

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Writing Incident Reports

Stacey Corbitt

Chapter Overview

Without exception and across the globe, every workplace in your professional career is likely to apply considerable value to safety, health, and security of the business and all of its assets. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is the regulating and enforcement entity whose mission is “to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance” ( https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha , n.d.). The importance of record keeping in the areas of safety and health cannot be overstated; and all employees are responsible for some level of preparing safety documentation. This chapter aims to provide you with tools for success in writing a workplace-specific genre: the incident report .

Think about your own experiences, at work or in another capacity. What training have you completed related to safety, security, or health? Why do you think the organization provided the training? How did you benefit from being trained? How did the organization benefit? Be prepared to discuss your experience in class.

Preparing to write an incident report

Employers often include training on their company safety program as part of new employee orientation: as a result, as you begin or continue your professional career, you will become familiar with your company’s requirements and your responsibilities for documentation of accidents and other reportable incidents. This section provides information about typical company procedures you may encounter.

Before anything happens

Information collection procedures should be provided in the workplace safety and health plan handbook or other document, and may be accompanied by one or more forms designed to capture all initial information about the incident. Always be familiar with the incident reporting procedures required by your employer so you are prepared to address your responsibility in clear, complete, concise, and correct documentation.

After something happens

First, in the event you are involved in or witness an accident or other event that is outside the normal and expected course of business while in the workplace, be prepared to collect and recall detailed information according to a plan specified by your employer. It may be critical to make observations, ask questions, write information down, make sketches, and take photographs as soon as safely possible following any emergency procedures. Familiarity with the employer’s safety protocols ensures you can minimize further risk to individuals and to the company.

Collecting important data

Perhaps your career will provide opportunities for you to conduct in-depth investigations for your employer, and you may prepare lengthy, detailed investigation reports addressing things like root causes and policy changes. Regardless of his or her position within the company, however, each employee has a responsibility to work safely and to report incidents or unsafe conditions. As noted above, many times the latter level of reporting amounts to completing one or more specialized forms similar to the one provided in Figure 1 below. Review the example form and be prepared to discuss it with your peers in class.

writing a report on an incident

Figure 1. Partial initial incident report information collection form (Sandvick, 2020)

The facts about an incident are collected in the form shown in Figure 1 using reporters’ questions: that is, those questions that elicit what , where , when , who , how , and why information. Additionally, certain incident types require visual media representation of details. Working with a classmate, discuss a parking lot collision or other incident involving at least one driver and vehicle. Besides answering the questions provided in Figure 1, what other kinds of visual information could you collect and provide to help readers understand the incident?

In the event your organization does not have a readily-available data collection form to use, the reporters’ questions may provide sufficient guidance for you to collect incident details. In any case, the two important goals to meet in preparing to write an incident report are as follows:

  • Collect the facts about and observations of the incident as soon as is safely possible, distinguishing between your own observations and those relayed to you by other witnesses; and
  • Create any photographs, diagrams, and other visual data as soon as it is safe to do so.

Organizing and drafting an internal incident report

Your organization’s policies and procedures, together with your position, will determine the next steps you should take in the incident reporting process. As an intern or junior-level professional, your responsibility may end with completion and submission of the reporting form(s). If you have management or executive authority, you are more likely to be tasked with writing a complete narrative incident report. Finally, if you have primary responsibility for health, safety, and/or security within your workplace – perhaps you are a safety coordinator – you may need to collect the initial witness report forms; conduct complete investigations; prepare one or more formal narrative reports; make training or disciplinary decisions; recommend policy changes; and prepare official reports for state and federal authorities.

Understand that the specific requirements of your employer may be unique to your business and to the type of workplace incident being reported. Table 1 below contains questions you must answer in the drafting process: discuss the scope of and reasons for those questions.

Table 1. Considerations for organizing and drafting your report

A word about preparing external incident reports

As noted in the introduction, OSHA may have regulatory authority over your employer. In that event, you may be required to report the details of a workplace accident or other incident according to the specifications of OSHA and in a format they prescribe. As you review Figure 2, notice the information required by the report form. How does it compare to the information provided in a typical internal incident report as represented in the previous section of this chapter? What can you tell about OSHA’s priorities from its reporting form?

Figure 2. Online incident report form required by OSHA for some incidents (2004)

Finalizing internal incident reports

Organizing your effort, taking stock of your progress through the reporting process and reorganizing your information is a constant in incident reporting. At this point, you should be able to check off the following steps:

  • Ensure you have collected all relevant answers to the reporters’ questions from both your own point of view and that of others involved in or witnessing the incident.
  • Confirm you have taken photos and created or obtained drawings as needed to fully and clearly explain the sequence of events and extent of damage.
  • Obtain copies of any other documentation (police reports, for example) or artifacts from the scene of the incident that will accompany your internal report.

Draft your report using the format prescribed by your employer or, if no specifics are given, use a standard business memorandum format. Keep in mind both the intended audience and the potential readers as you write; and remember that your purpose is to objectively report the facts and details of the incident in a clear, concise, complete, correct, and usable document.

Chapter conclusion

Incident reports are a workplace-specific genre of writing that generally appear in report memo format. Like all forms of technical writing, incident reports succeed when they are clear, complete, concise, and correct. This genre is frequently written for one audience who then may disseminate it to a much broader audience. The challenges of incident reporting include careful organizing, integrating graphics, and especially reporting facts and observations objectively and completely without addressing the author’s opinions or judgments. Just (all) the facts, please.

Activity: A case study

Read and discuss the following scenario with your classmates as directed by your instructor.

Safety First

Carolyn has 3 semesters left to complete her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. Last summer, she was hired as a field sampling technician for a growing environmental engineering firm. Her employer specializes in groundwater remediation.

Carolyn’s training in the first week of her internship included the following topics:

  • Safe operation of company and worksite vehicles, both at the office and in the field
  • Use and care of personal protective equipment
  • Handling, marking, and disposal of samples, equipment, and supplies
  • Completing daily work logs and weekly progress reports

Protocols for reporting accidents and near misses

Carolyn also learned from the junior-level project engineers who trained her that interns and new hires typically are expected to do most of the paperwork.

On Wednesday of the second week of her internship, Carolyn had an opportunity to test her skills at collecting and reporting information about an accident involving damage to company property. Joey, a project engineer who oversaw Carolyn’s training on the sampling process, was driving a company pickup from the office to the field worksite.

  • The truck assigned that day to Joey and Carolyn had been parked front-end first in the fleet yard, which violated the safe operation and parking rules of the company.
  • Joey noticed there were no chocks at the wheels of the truck. Since he didn’t need to remove any chocks, he did not complete a walk-around of the vehicle.
  • Carolyn climbed into the passenger side of the truck and fastened her seat belt.
  • Since the parking spot was positioned against the building, preventing him from pulling through, Joey backed out.

Joey backed the truck out of the parking spot and collided with a cement barrier. The collision broke the taillight cover on the truck’s passenger side and dented the bumper. There was also damage to the paint on the truck’s tailgate.

Answer the questions and be prepared to discuss your answers in class.

  • Consider the audience, which may include safety officers; business owners; direct supervisors; medical personnel; and insurance and legal agents. What needs do all members of this audience have in common?
  • Carolyn is an intern and is just starting her work at the company. She doesn’t want to become known as “a troublemaker” among her peers. What should she include in her witness account of the incident report? What should she avoid in the report? Why?
  • Would you advise Carolyn to include any photographs in her incident report? If so, what should she photograph? If not, why not?

Refer to Figure 3 below as you complete the homework.

Figure 3. Example of an employer’s instructions

Instructions for Employees:  Making an Initial Property Damage Incident Report

Report as soon as possible within 4 hours of the incident via email addressed to [email protected].

  • Subject line of email: “MM/DD/YYYY Property Damage Notification.”
  • Include the following information in the body of the email:
  • Names of employees present, whether involved or possible witnesses
  • Organization unit, office phone and cell phone numbers of employee making report
  • Time, weather, and site address and description of incident location
  • Describe the work being performed and the equipment and/or other property damage
  • Attach pictures of the location and damaged area(s) of equipment.
  • CC the unit supervisor and all other employees present at the time of the incident.

Developmental writing assignment

Work together with a partner to agree on the details of the incident to be reported. You will need to make decisions about any details not provided in the scenario but required by the reporting instructions: for example, you will need to decide on a date and time of day for the incident. What other assumptions do you make?

Why do you think the instructions require a report within 4 hours and submitted via email ?

Technical writing document creation assignment

Write and submit the employer-required incident report email for the accident identified in the Activity section above.

“How to write an incident report” by Clinton M. Sandvick (2020). Provided by: wikiHow. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 .   https://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Incident-Report .

Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2004). OSHA forms for recording work-related injuries and illnesses. Retrieved from OSHA.gov website: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html

Mindful Technical Writing Copyright © 2020 by Stacey Corbitt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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writing a report on an incident

Real Examples of Incident Reports at the Workplace with Templates

writing a report on an incident

Accidents can happen, no matter how many preventative measures are in place. And, when accidents do happen, it’s vital to learn from them. To ensure your documentation is spotless, it’s always a good idea to look at some example incident reports at the workplace.

A safety incident report helps ensure nobody is subject to mistreatment because it contains information from the injured employee as well as eyewitnesses. This helps fill in missing pieces of information and figure out how the accident occurred exactly. 

“The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

So, let’s dive in! 

If you’re looking for an example of an incident report at the workplace, feel free to jump to that section using the links below. Otherwise, we will first discuss what incident reports are and why they are so important.

writing a report on an incident

What is a Workplace Incident Report? 

A workplace incident report is a document that states all the information about any accidents, injuries, near misses, property damage or health and safety issues that happen in the workplace. 

They are very important to identify the root cause of an incident along with any related hazards and to prevent it happening again in the future. As soon as an incident takes place and everybody in the workplace is safe, a work incident report should be written up. 

Typically, a workplace accident report should be completed within 48 hours of the incident taking place . The layout of an accident incident report should be told like a story, in chronological order, with as many facts as the witnesses can possibly remember. 

What should you include in an incident report?

There are many different types of incident reports, depending on your industry, but most will include the underlying details listed below in order to understand what happened: 

  • The type of incident that took place
  • Where the incident happened
  • The date, day and time of the incident
  • Names of the people involved
  • Injuries that were obtained 
  • Medical treatment that may have been required
  • Equipment that was involved
  • Events leading up to the incident that could have contributed to it taking place
  • Eyewitnesses that can tell their side of the story

For example…If a chemical was involved in the incident, it should be noted if the victim was wearing appropriate PPE or not, as well as a photograph of the damage and the chemical’s label stating its components. If a workplace vehicle was involved, all information about the vehicle should be noted, and the possible reasons why it occurred if there is no clear answer. Employers should ensure vehicle safety guidelines are adhered to in order to prevent incidents in the workplace. 

If this is an OSHA recordable incident (accident) and the company is exempt from OSHA recordkeeping , the employer must also fill in OSHA Form 300 . This form enables both the employer and the agency to keep a log of the injuries or illnesses that happen in the workplace. It includes crucial information such as the number of working days missed due to injury, the sort of injury that was obtained and if medical treatment was necessary. 

writing a report on an incident

How to Write an Incident Report

It is important to lay out an incident report clearly and concisely with all the relevant information about what happened. The clearer it is to read, the easier it will be to understand the cause of the workplace accident. 

The language used for incident reporting should not be too emotional and should not purposefully put the blame on someone. Here is an incident report example template:

This workplace incident report template includes the basic guidelines and best practices of what to include to make sure the report includes all the details it should. Once a report is written, it should be kept on record in the workplace. 

Incident Report Examples

Depending on the type of workplace incident, the writer will need to include various pieces of information. If you are not sure how to write an incident statement, here are example incident reports for the workplace covering various scenarios. 

Injury Incident Report Example

“At 11.20am on Tuesday 7 th July 2020, a worker, Timothy Johnson, tripped over an electrical wire on the Blue & Green construction site, located on Main Street, Riverside. He was carrying a hammer at the time. 

It is believed the wire should not have been stretched across the ground without safety tape securing it to the ground and drawing attention to it. Timothy fell to the ground and dropped the hammer but did not injure himself with it. He twisted his ankle, which immediately began to swell and scrapped the side of his leg in a minor way. A co-worker came to assist Timothy to his feet and helped him walk to a nearby bench. Timothy could not put his weight on his left foot, so he was taken to a nearby hospital. Once at the hospital, doctors confirmed that Timothy had sprained his ankle and would have to keep the foot elevated and use crutches for the next two weeks. He would not be able to work during this time. 

The foreman for the construction site has assessed the wires on the ground and concluded that brightly colored tape should secure the wires to the ground to draw attention to them and to ensure there are no bumps in the wire that are easy to trip over so that this does not happen again”.

Forklift Accident Report Sample

“On Friday 5 th July 2020, at 3.35pm, a forklift driver, Max White, was driving the forklift he usually drives in the Sunny Side Warehouse, ABC Street, when the front right tire got caught on a piece of wood on the ground, causing the forklift to overturn with Max inside it. 

Luckily a co-worker was nearby to help Max climb out of the right side of the forklift. Max was shaken up and reported that his left shoulder and left side of his neck were hurting him from the impact. Max decided he did not need to go to the hospital as he felt like he would only obtain bruises from his injuries and that they were not severe enough to need medical attention. His manager sent him home for the rest of the day to ensure he did not strain himself further. 

The wood that caused the forklift to overturn had not been stacked properly and has now been moved to a secure location in the warehouse to make sure it does not cause any more issues for forklift drivers”.

Fall Incident Report Sample

“In Fairview Boutique on Friday March 6 th , 2020, Samantha Wright was stacking shelves while standing on a ladder in order to reach the top shelf of handbags at 4.10pm. As she was stretching to place a bag on the shelf, the ladder collapsed from under her and she fell to the ground. Her co-worker heard the loud noise and immediately helped her. Samantha was in a lot of pain and could not get to her feet as she felt lightheaded. An ambulance was phoned, and she was brought to hospital. Samantha obtained a broken right arm, bruised thigh and hip, and a bump to the head that left no major head injury. She was recommended three weeks off work at the minimum by doctors.  The fall was concluded to be of nobody else’s fault but was put down to Samantha accidently overreaching instead of moving the ladder to where she needed to see”. 

Hand Injury Incident Report Sample

“On April 21 st , 2020, at Willow Maintenance, Yellow Abbey Grove, Kyle Jenkins was about to use a miter saw to cut some timber, but when he started to use the saw, it jolted, causing the saw to come down suddenly on his hand. 

Kyle’s left thumb was cut deeply by the saw and he lost a lot of blood. Co-workers came to his aid, turned the saw off and helped him stop the bleeding with tissues. He was then brought to the hospital where he received eight stitches and was told to not use the hand for rigorous work for 4 weeks. The head of Willow Maintenance inspected the saw to check for any issues and see why it came down and cut Kyle’s hand. It appeared that whoever was the last person to use the machine did not put the safety latch back on the saw once they had finished using it. 

If this safety latch was on the saw when Kyle used it, it would not have cut his hand, but rather, automatically shut off once it jolted. The manager decided to take a day to retrain his staff to ensure they adhere to the health and safety guidelines of the company”. 

Exposure Incident Report Sample

“In Woodbell factory, Springville, on Tuesday May 26 th , 2020, Annie Bedley was packaging household cleaning products when a bottle tipped over onto her wrist. 

She got up from her seat to wash off the chemical in the washroom. She then went to her supervisor to show her what had happened. Annie’s wrist was red and itchy but was not burning as she had washed off the remnants of the chemical immediately. Annie’s supervisor brought her to the office to sit with a cold compress on her hand and applied a layer of ointment to treat the burn. Annie did not feel like she would need further medical assistance and agreed with her supervisor that she would need two to three days off work to ensure the burn did not get irritated. 

Annie was wearing appropriate PPE at the time of the incident and no faults were found on the conveyor belt at the packing bay. The incident has been noted as an accident with nobody to blame. Photographic evidence of the burn has been included in this file”.

First Aid Incident Report Sample

“On Friday November 15 h 2019, Arthur Stokes was walking along the corridor between building four and five of Graygrock Inc. when he noticed that there was something sharp sticking through the bottom of his right shoe. 

He stopped to see what it was and found a nail stuck in his shoe. He took his shoe off and lucking was able to pull the nail out as it hadn’t pierced through to his foot and only minorly scraped it. He saw the stairwell was getting new handrails fitted and presumed the nail came from that. He saw two other nails further along the corridor and decided to pick them up to make sure nobody else stood on them. He reported to his manager’s office where he presented the nails and explained the situation. His foot had a small cut, so Arthur’s manager gave him an anti-septic wipe and a band-aid to help him. 

Arthur returned to work while his manager talked to the construction workers about keeping their workspace neat and to prevent any further accidents like this from happening”. 

writing a report on an incident

Incident Report Form Templates

The layout of an incident report forms can vary depending on where the incident took place and the type of injuries. Here are some examples of incident reports at the workplace that you can use. 

writing a report on an incident

Incident Report Form for General Staff (Word/PDF)

This general staff accident report form template can be used in a variety of workplaces. It includes all the necessities to describe a workplace incident to ensure it is recorded correctly. This general form is ideal for any business type. 

writing a report on an incident

Incident Report Form for a Construction Site

This example incident report for the workplace is unique to others as it includes a field for the construction project name and the project manager’s details. This makes it easy to understand where in the construction site the accident occurred and how severe it was.

writing a report on an incident

Incident Report for a Hospital/ Medical Clinic (Word/PDF)

The hospital incident report template is much more detailed than others as it must include accurate information about the staff member or patient’s injuries, where in the hospital it happened and what medical treatment they required.

As you write your workplace incident reports, remember it is not to place blame on one person, but rather record a series of events that have taken place. Sometimes these are pure accidents due to bad luck and, sometimes, there is human error or a technical fault involved. By the way, this is the basis of the Just Culture Algorithm™ which is definitely worth exploring if you’re looking to improve the safety culture at your workplace .

These examples of incident reports at the workplace are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the variety of workplace accidents that can occur. In any case, it’s crucial to record any incidents that arise because this helps create a safer work environment.

References & Further Reading

  • OSHA’s Guide for Employers carrying out Incident Investigation
  • OSHA’s Injury & Illness prevention Program
  • Workplace Injury Information
  • Eyewitness Statement Form : Should be included for any eyewitnesses to the incident to aid the investigation.
  • Injury Investigation Questions : Should be asked when an employee has been injured at the workplace to understand exactly what happened.
  • Incident Investigation Flowchart Procedure: A step by step example of the procedures involved in carrying out a workplace incident investigation.  

writing a report on an incident

  • Incident Report: Examples, Form Templates & Writing Guide

busayo.longe

The saying, “accidents are bound to happen” is true for every individual and organization. In fact, it is normal to encounter incidents that have a far-reaching effect on productivity and when this happens, such an event should be accurately documented in an incident report.

An incident report, therefore, is the first step any individual or organization should take upon the occurrence of any unforeseen event that affects its output while putting other persons at risk. In this article, we will highlight the different features of an incident report and show you how to create an incident report form on Formplus . 

What is an Incident Report?

An incident report is a document that accurately provides the details of an incident; especially one that causes damages, injury, or death. It helps an organization to accurately profile the different events leading to such an incident and the aftermath(s) of this occurrence. 

It is also referred to as an accident report because it typically outlines information relating to an accident or injury. However, an incident report can also contain information about near misses or other unusual or hazardous happenings in different contexts. 

Features of an Incident Report  

An incident report is defined by the following features:

  • Detailed Description : It narrates all the events surrounding the incident in question in their exact manner of occurrence. An incident report may include the following information: 
  • The circumstances surrounding the incident.
  • Date, time, and location of the incident.
  • The details on witnesses and victims, if any.
  • Reactionary measures put in place.
  • The aftermath of the incident.
  • Corrective actions are taken to reduce the likelihood of another incident. 

The more specific the incident report is, the more useful it will be in informing corrective decisions. 

  • Facts : In an incident report, only the facts are stated. In this document, the reporter is not expected to communicate his or her feelings or opinions about the incident as this can distort the accuracy of the report and distract the organization from the details of the event. 
  • Objectivity : An incident report must be written in an objective manner that is devoid of any emotions; regardless of the nature of the incident. The reporter must take extra care to avoid sentiments that can get in the way of an objective presentation of the details of the incident. 
  • Sequence: An incident report presents events chronologically, that is, in their sequence of occurrence. The details must be organized in a logical manner that is easy to read, navigate and understand, and you are free to use subheadings and bullet points where applicable. 
  • Witness Statements : When necessary, include first-hand information provided by witnesses about the incident. This can be in the form of direct statements made by the witnesses and they should be placed within quotation marks while you also provide information that explains the witnesses’ positions.
  • Authorization: An incident report must be formally authorized by the reporter and other supervisor officers in the organization. This validates the information provided and it is important for the supervisory officer to proofread the information provided before appending his or her signature on the document. 

Types of Incident Reports

1. workplace incident report  .

A workplace incident report is a form that is used to profile physical occurrences that impact an employee’s productivity in the workplace. It includes workplace injuries, near misses, and accidents that have a negative impact on the employee (s) and the organization, in general. 

Usually, labor laws specify the kind of information that should be spelled out in a workplace incident report. This type of incident report may also highlight an employee’s concerns with an organization’s safety practices, security breaches, and workplace conduct. 

Examples of workplace incident reports include:

  • A report about sexual harassment or assault in the workplace.
  • A report about a fire incident that occurred within the office premises. 

2. Accident Report  

An accident report is a type of incident report that contains information about an accident or emergency that may be fatal, ghastly, or minor. An accident report is not restricted to the workplace as it can also be filed by law enforcement agents and safety officers. 

It is also referred to as an accident investigation report because it highlights all the probable causative factors that are responsible for the accident. It also helps the concerned parties to determine the extent of the damage and to support or refute insurance claims. 

Examples of accident reports include:

  • A report on a fatal plane crash.
  • A report of an explosion on an organization’s premises.

3. Security/Police Incident Report . 

A police incident report is a type of incident report that is used to keep track of the thefts/losses and any other types of security events that take place within specific premises. This report is important because it helps an organization keep track of security breaches and safety measures.

A security or police incident report is usually filed by the security personnel in charge of the premises where the security breach took place. It can also be filed in cases of computer system breaches, unauthorized access to an organization’s database, and compromised user accounts. 

Examples of safety and security incident report include:

  • A report of property theft in an organization.
  • A report on a burglary attempt in a neighborhood. 

Here are 7 Incident Report Form Template

1. incident report form.

Use this incident report form template to swiftly collect information about accidents and injuries as they occur. The Formplus incident report form will help your organization to easily track and record any unfortunate incidents and this information can prove useful in forestalling such an occurrence in the future. 

This form allows you to collect useful information about the victim, the location of the incident, and the nature of the incident. You can edit it in the form builder by adding more form fields to enable you to collect more information such as the signature of the reporter and the time of the report. 

2. Sexual Harassment Complaint Form

Allow your employees and clients to easily report any cases of sexual harassment for immediate investigation and redress using this sexual harassment complaint form . This form template enables victims of sexual harassment to inform the appropriate authorities about sexual abuse and sexual assault in the workplace.

With multiple form sharing options, Formplus allows you to easily share this sexual harassment form with your employees and the general public. You can embed the form on your organization’s website and you can also share it with your official social media pages through the direct sharing buttons.

3. Workplace Harassment Form

The Formplus workplace harassment form allows your employees to file a formal complaint about workplace harassment. This workplace harassment form template will help you to effectively track and address any cases of bullying, sexual harassment or assault in your organization. 

With this form, you can collect a range of important information with regard to the nature of the harassment and the employee details of the complainant and the accused. You can use this form template or edit it to suit your organization’s needs in the form builder. 

4. Online Petition Form

Do you want to advocate for a change or register your displeasure about a particular policy or action? Use this online petition form template to easily create a petition for the government, an individual or an organization. 

In the Formplus online petition form, you can directly collect digital signatures from petition signatories using the e-signature field. Formplus also allows your form respondents to fill and submit your online petition when they have limited or no internet access.

5. Proxy Form

With this proxy form template, you can formally empower a third party to make decisions on your behalf for a specific period of time. This form serves as a legal tender and it helps you to avoid the inconsistencies that are associated with a verbal authorization.  

The Formplus proxy form template contains signature fields that collect the digital signatures of all parties involved in this agreement. You can also edit the form in the builder to include more form fields when you sign up on Formplus

6. Bug Report Form

This bug report form will help you to stay on top of every situation by collecting real-time reports about different issues that may arise with your online services.

This form allows your customers to swiftly register their dissatisfaction with your organization’s online services so that you can resolve them in time. 

7. Daily Report Form

Track your worker’s daily productivity using this daily report form template. The Formplus daily report form allows you to assess your worker’s performance at the end of the day, and you can edit it to suit your organization’s needs in the form builder. 

Can’t find your preferred incident report form? learn how to create one below.

How to Create an Incident Report Form on Formplus

1. sign in to formplus.

In the Formplus builder, you can easily create your organization’s incident report form by dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form. To access the Formplus builder, you will need to create an account on Formplus. 

Once you do this, sign in to your account and click on “Create Form ” to begin. 

2. Edit Form Title

Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “Incident Report Form”.

3. Edit Form

Click on the edit button to edit the form.

  • Edit fields: You can modify your form field to be hidden or read-only based on your organization’s needs. 
  • Click on “Save”
  • Preview form. 

4. Form Customization

With the form customization options, you can easily change the outlook of your form and make it more unique and personalized. Formplus allows you to change your form theme, add background images and even change the font according to your needs. 

5. Multiple Sharing Options

How to write an incident report letter.

An incident report letter is a formal document that contains all the information with regard to the particular occurrence that is being reported. A good incident report letter effectively outlines the different events surrounding the incident and suggests measures that can be taken to avoid a recurrence in the future.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write an incident report letter:

Follow the Protocol

Find out if your organization already has a procedure for writing an incident report letter. In many cases, organizations have a template for this type of letter and it is best to follow the provided outline to avoid any inconsistencies. 

Write your Letter as Soon as Possible

Typically, an incident report letter should be sent in, at most, 48 hours after the incident. Writing your letter immediately after the incident would help you to provide vivid and accurate descriptions of the events surrounding the incident. 

Outline the Facts

Usually, an incident report letter follows the 5Ws and 1H format, that is, what, when, where, who, why and how. Typically, it should explicitly state the following:  

  • The time and date of the incident
  • The location of the incident
  • Your name and other bio-data details.
  • The name(s) of any other individual(s) involved in the incident.
  • Provide a general overview of the occurrence.
  • Provide a detailed description of the incident: Write about the incident in the sequence of occurrence, from the first-person point of view. 
  • Suggest proactive measures that can be taken to avoid a recurrence of the incident. 

Incident Report Letter Sample

Uses of incident report  .

  • An incident report allows you to accurately document the details of any occurrence in your organization. This information may be useful in the future when dealing with liability issues stemming from the incident. 
  • It evaluates the incident and provides recommendations on precautionary and reactionary measures to be taken. 
  • An incident report serves as an effective feedback mechanism and it raises the overall awareness of your employees and clients. 
  • It improves the safety culture of your organization. 
  • A near-miss incident report provides invaluable information that enables companies to proactively resolve hazards. 
  • Incident reports can also be used as safety documents that highlight potential risks and uncontrolled hazards found in the workplace.

Conclusion  

When drafting an incident report, it is important for you to accurately reflect the different events in the order in which their order of occurrences. You should also take extra care to document facts and not opinions or hearsays because these will affect the validity and usefulness of the report in the end. 

Finally, it is easier to document an incident report using an online form. Online forms are more convenient and you can easily embed them on your organization’s website or share them with your social media pages so that all concerned parties can access them easily. 

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Incident Report Samples to Help You Describe Accidents

Team Safesite

Your company’s incident report form should make it easy to record the details of a workplace accident. Even fill-in-the-blank forms require a long-form description of the incident. This portion of the report can be the most difficult part to write.

In this article, we provide completed incident report samples to help you hone your documentation skills.

What Does an Incident Report Need to Include?

An incident report is a formal recording of the facts related to a workplace accident, injury, or near miss . Its primary purpose is to uncover the circumstances and conditions that led to the event in order to prevent future incidents. 

Every incident report you file should contain a minimum of the following:

  • Type of incident (injury, near miss, property damage, or theft)
  • Date of incident
  • Time of incident
  • Name of affected individual
  • A narrative description of the incident, including the sequence of events and results of the incident
  • Injuries, if any
  • Treatments required, if any
  • Witness name(s)
  • Witness statements
  • Other workers involved
  • Video and/or 360-degree photographs of the scene

Include quantifiable measurements where possible. For example, the ladder capacity is 250 lbs and the victim was hoisting 300 lbs. 

Finally, where more than one person is injured in an incident, create a unique report for each affected employee . While it’s fine to duplicate general details between reports of this nature, you’ll need to include details specific to that person, such as the event from their point of view or medical records.

When Does an Incident Report Need to Be Completed?

Create an incident report as soon as your employees are safe , which includes seeking medical attention and implementing an immediate corrective action to prevent further danger or damage.

By recording details immediately, you improve the accuracy of your report and the effects of your corrective actions. While it may take a few days to complete your report, it should take you only hours (or less) to start it. 

work incident requiring a report

Depending on your company policies and oversight from relevant regulatory bodies, you may be legally bound to complete an incident report within a given amount of time. If the incident resulted in a recordable injury, you must complete OSHA Form 301 within seven days. In addition, you may need to send your report to the organization providing oversight, US Federal or State OSHA , for example, within a given period of time. 

Review federal OSHA incident reporting and recordkeeping requirements or visit your state OSHA website for details. Remember that you must also report a fatality, hospitalization, or amputation directly to OSHA.

Safety Management Tip : Safesite Premium users enjoy streamlined OSHA incident recording with Safesite’s OSHA300 log integration feature .

Incident Reporting Mistakes to Avoid

Incident reports are more than a mandatory form to complete: they’re a vital part of your recordkeeping practices both for compliance and safety in general. Their importance means you want to get as much relevant information as you can as quickly as possible. But sometimes, safety teams can get in their own way and miss out on important details by making common mistakes.

Blame-casting and just getting it done are two common incident reporting mistakes you should avoid.  

It is easy to go on a witch hunt when accidents happen. However, incident reports aren’t created for the purpose of finding out who’s to blame. While staff should be held responsible (as stipulated by company policy) when they knowingly endanger themselves others, an incident report should focus on improving workplace safety.

If you make it clear you’ll abide by company policy but are not out to cast blame, you increase the likelihood that employees will participate in your incident investigation and provide honest witness statements. These factors create a stronger incident report.

In addition, if you rush through the report to “just get it done,” you may miss out on important details or lack clarity in wording. Irresponsible reporting can lead your team into even more danger, while detailed, clear reporting can lead to improved work conditions and better training. 

Three Incident Report Samples

Below are some sample incident report formats for three common types of workplace accidents. Use them as guides to effectively describe events.

Injury and Lost Time Incident Report Sample

If an injury requiring medical treatment, lost time/altered responsibilities happens in your workplace, it’s important to document it ASAP while the details are still fresh in memory. 

Here are some of the vital elements to include in your description of the incident:

  • Location (Address)
  • Date/time of incident
  • Name of supervisor
  • Description of the incident, including specific job site location, the sequence of events, and the results of the event
  • Whether or not proper PPE was being used
  • The root cause(s) of the incident
  • Associated hazards raised and resolved following the event
  • The affected individual’s version of the events
  • Actions taken by concerned individuals after the incident
  • Description of injuries
  • How the decision was made to call (or not to call) emergency services
  • Treatment required
  • Photographs of the scene 

Though the details above seem excessive, mentioning them in the incident report paints a more accurate picture. It’s important to include the above information in as detailed and concise a manner as possible. Holes in your report could lead to inferences and missed opportunities to create a safer workplace.

Injury Report Example 2

To write an incident report, use a narrative format. In other words, simply tell the story. Here’s an incident report sample description of a slip or fall resulting in a fracture, written in narrative form:

“On Friday afternoon, February 3, 2019, at 2 p.m. in ABC Shipping Co. located in 13th Avenue, Applewood, one of the warehouse workers (John Keegan) slipped and fell while carrying heavy (85 lbs) inventory. The root cause is believed to be the unavailability of a hand truck or pallet jack. Instead of waiting, John attempted carrying the load himself. A second possible cause is the condition of John’s PPE, specifically his boots, which are very worn in certain places.

When John fell, his colleagues rushed to his assistance. Suspecting a fracture, the supervisor on the floor (Kathy Pickens) decided to call 911. John said he felt a bit dizzy when he lost his balance and that he just ‘tripped over his feet.’ He tried to minimize damage to the load itself while falling, which may have led to a more awkward fall.

Two of his co-workers said that they noticed he was struggling a bit before the fall, but were busy with their own tasks and felt it would be rude to ‘call him out.’ See the attached witness statements for more info.

John was taken to a nearby hospital and a fracture to his wrist was confirmed. John will be out of work for a number of weeks.

The supervisor is currently working with the safety officer (Chris Darnell) to assess the condition of the floor, the number and condition of hand trucks and pallet jacks on the floor, as well as the condition of company-provided boots over two years old.”

As you can see, including the full story, complete with small details and witness statements will help you investigate and recall the incident with greater clarity.

After documenting the incident, you may have legal reporting requirements. Report and store the files according to recordkeeping requirements from regulatory bodies. It’s generally best practice to preserve the files for the duration of employment.

Exposure Incident Report Example

When exposure to dangerous chemicals or pathogens occurs, it’s important to document the event carefully in an incident report.

Including the following details will make your exposure incident report more effective:

  • Name of affected individual
  • Name of Supervisor
  • Description of the incident, including specific job site location, sequence of events, and results of the event
  • Name of the chemical/pathogen/carcinogen, amount, concentration, and description of hazard labels/safety data sheets (SDS)
  • Exposure monitoring data, if available
  • Whether or not a contaminated sharp was involved
  • Description of injuries, including body part(s) exposed, length of exposure, and size of area exposed
  • Signs and symptoms displayed
  • Photographs of the scene and hazard labels involved

Exposure Incident Report Sample 2

Here’s an incident report sample description for overexposure via inhalation:

“Josh Lee, a freight handler in XYZ Shipping Lines, was exposed to carbon monoxide fumes on December 2, 2017, Tuesday, from (estimated) 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. He was at the unloading bay B, helping unload some freight from various containers with the help of two forklift operators: Kit Stevens and Donald Summers, neither of which complained of symptoms.

During unloading, Lee suddenly experienced lightheadedness and nausea. He informed his supervisor (Donna Martin) that he thought he was ill. 

Martin noticed his symptoms were consistent with CO exposure, so she walked over to the area and felt the air quality seemed off. She ran a sensor (Portable Direct Reading Monitor) and discovered that CO levels were on the high end but within the acceptable limit: 30 PPM.

Stevens and Summers were ordered to turn off powered vehicles and sit in fresh air for an hour while the ventilation system could be examined (see attached report). 

Lee was driven to the hospital by Martin to receive treatment. On the way, he complained of blurred vision briefly but said that it had cleared up upon walking into the ER. A full report will be attached once received.

Lee’s colleagues, Stevens and Summers, didn’t notice anything out of the norm with the air quality, but Summers acknowledged that at 11:00 AM, his vehicle had been left running near the open end of a container for thirty minutes while Lee was adjusting two improperly arranged pallets just inside. There is no air quality data from that time.”

Be sure to attach medical reports and lost-time from work, if any, to your initial report. Keep the report on hand for the duration of the employee’s tenure with the company, at a minimum. 

First Aid Incident Report Sample

Some workplace mishaps result in an injury that requires on-site or walk-in medical first aid treatment. Often, workers can return and finish their shift. Recording an incident report is still vitally important, even where it’s not expressly required by regulatory bodies.

First Aid Report Example 2

Here is an incident report sample description for incidents resulting in the need for first aid. 

“ On May 12, 2019, at around 9:34 AM. at King Street job site, Michael Williams was hit by an air nail gun that had been dropped by Carl Simone near the top of a staircase and gained momentum as it tumbled down. 

Williams, who was nailing drywall at the bottom of the staircase and wearing noise protective headphones, eye protection, and a short-sleeved shirt, was hit in the arm, causing a bruise and abrasion. He was treated with antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, a bandage, and an ice pack on site. Williams returned to work within a half hour. 

Simone had shouted a warning after he dropped the gun, but Williams said he did not hear it. Simone said that he simply lost his grip, but Williams said he felt that the tool may have been ‘swung’ before dropping. There were no other witnesses to report on the circumstances of the accident. 

Simone was wearing gloves when he dropped the nail gun. There are no outstanding hazards related to this incident and all workers will be reminded about glove selection and tool handling at the next safety meeting.”

While you should always document injuries requiring first aid internally, you typically don’t need to add them to your Form 300A or other regulatory reporting. In fact, doing so can needlessly elevate your incident rate.

An Incident Report Template to Improve Your System

Your incident reporting system should allow your employees to easily document all of the information listed in the incident report samples above. If your incident forms are easy to fill out in the field, you’re more likely to capture accurate, timely information. 

With Safesite, you can complete an incident report in six easy steps:

  • Tap Log Incident
  • Select your inicent report type (injury, near miss, property damage, theft, or equipment failure) and location, date, and time
  • Input your incident description and an incident photo
  • Tag the person involved and witnesses from your team
  • Complete root cause analysis
  • Log your incident

Describe The Incident 2

Safesite’s incident report form can be filled out on-site via iOS or Android app. It includes places to record the details of the event, images of the scene, and witness statements. It also allows you to raise associated hazards and identify a root cause. 

An incident report can also be completed using paper, but many companies now look to secure software to not only document and store incidents but also to trend problem areas and reveal safety gaps. 

Not ready to go mobile yet? Here’s a paper template you can edit and use in the meantime:

Incident Report Template

Raising and Resolving Hazards

Many incidents and near misses will involve hazards that could cause immediate or future harm to your employees if not resolved. From tagging and removing damaged equipment from service to safely dismantling corrupted structures, your incident reporting process is not truly complete until you resolve the danger. 

To keep things straightforward, include hazard descriptions and actions on your incident reports. With Safesite, you can create hazards from within an incident report by tapping Add Root Cause Hazard. Then, you’ll be able to alert your team of the hazard in real-time and assign it to someone for resolution. And you can do it without deviating from your incident report.

Hazard Resolution

Tip: Want to streamline hazard management without missing a beat? Check out our guide to faster hazard recognition and resolution .

Go Forth and Report

When writing incident reports, be objective about the details. Your main goal is improving workplace safety, not pointing fingers at who is responsible. The incident report samples provided show that by staying true to the facts, you encourage employee participation in your investigations.

Digital reporting automates part of the process, saving you time and reducing human error. Improve your incident reporting process by using a digital reporting tool, like Safesite , that integrates alerts and hazard resolution in a single place.

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How To Write An Incident Report (And Use It To Improve Safety)

In our daily lives, unexpected events can occur at any moment, especially in a dynamic workplace or other complex environments. These events, often referred to as incidents, can range from minor mishaps to significant emergencies . But what happens after an incident occurs? How do organizations ensure that they learn from these experiences and prevent them from happening again? The answer lies in a critical process known as workplace incident reporting .

What is Incident Reporting?

Incident reporting is the process of documenting all details of an unexpected event in a workplace or other environment. It's not just about jotting down what happened; it's a systematic approach to capturing the who, what, where, when, and why of an incident.

The Incident report is a vital tool for safety, compliance and continuous improvement.

  • Safety : By analyzing incidents, organizations can identify risks and hazards, leading to more robust safety measures.
  • Compliance : Many industries have legal requirements to report specific incidents. Proper reporting ensures that organizations meet these obligations.
  • Continuous Improvement : Incident reports are learning tools. They help organizations understand their weaknesses and strengths, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and growth.

Whether you're a manager overseeing a large team, an employee responsible for safety, or simply someone interested in organizational best practices, this guide will provide you with the insights and tools needed to make incident reporting a valuable part of your daily operations.

Get To Know More About Incident Reports

An incident report is a formal record of an unexpected or unusual event that could have or did result in harm or other consequences. Why is it formal? An incident report needs to be structured to capture essential details. The insights and evidence gained from incident details can be crucial for various purposes including route cause analysis.

  • Purpose : The primary purpose of an incident report is to provide a clear and concise account of the incident. It serves as a valuable tool for understanding what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
  • Common Elements : An incident report typically includes specific details such as the date and time of the incident, the people involved, the location, a description of the event, any injuries or damages, and the actions taken in response. These elements ensure that the report is not only informative but also actionable.
  • Usage Across Industries : Incident reports are not confined to a particular sector or industry. From healthcare to construction, from IT to retail, incident reports are used universally to maintain safety standards, comply with regulations, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Types of Incident Reports

Incidents are as varied as the environments in which they occur. From a minor equipment malfunction in a manufacturing plant to a significant security breach in an IT firm, incidents come in all shapes and sizes. Consequently, incident reports are not one-size-fits-all; they are tailored to the specific nature of the incident and the industry in which it occurs. Understanding the various types of incident reports is crucial for ensuring that the right information is captured and the appropriate actions are taken.

Here's a list of the most common types of incident reports used across different industries:

  • Safety Incidents : These reports cover accidents , injuries, or near misses in the workplace. They are vital in industries like construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, where physical safety is paramount.
  • Security Incidents : In the digital age, security incidents like data breaches or unauthorized access are increasingly common. These reports detail the nature of the security threat and the measures taken to mitigate it.
  • Quality Incidents : In sectors like manufacturing and food processing, quality incidents relate to deviations from quality standards or specifications. These reports help in identifying areas for improvement in product quality.
  • Compliance Incidents : Compliance incidents involve violations of legal or regulatory requirements. These reports are crucial for maintaining adherence to laws and industry standards.
  • Behavioral Incidents : In educational or care settings, behavioral incidents like bullying or misconduct are documented to ensure proper handling and resolution.
  • Medical Incidents : In healthcare, medical incidents such as medication errors or patient falls are meticulously recorded to enhance patient care and safety.

How to Write an Effective Incident Report

Writing an effective incident report requires capturing the essence of an incident in a way that's informative, actionable, and conducive to learning. 

Here are some key steps to guide you in this process

  • Add a 'What Happened' Heading : Start your report with a clear heading that summarizes the incident. This gives an immediate understanding of the event and sets the tone for the rest of the report. For example, "Fire in Warehouse" or "Data Breach in IT Department."
  • Use the 'Was' Sentence Structure : Begin your description with a structure like "The incident was..." to define it clearly. This helps in setting a factual tone and ensures that the report is objective. For instance, "The incident was a fire that broke out in the warehouse on July 15, 2023."
  • Fully Define the Incident in 2-3 Sentences : Be concise yet informative. Describe the incident, its impact, and immediate actions taken. Avoid unnecessary details but ensure that the critical aspects of the incident are covered.
  • Match the Incident Report Format : Follow a standardized format for your report. This typically includes sections like incident details, people involved, actions taken, and recommendations. Adhering to a format ensures consistency and makes the report easier to understand.
  • Include Evidence and Witnesses : Incorporate any supporting information, such as photographs of the incident, CCTV footage, or witness statements. This strengthens the report and provides a more comprehensive picture of the incident.
  • Prioritize Immediate Reporting : Emphasize the importance of reporting the incident as soon as possible. Timely reporting ensures that details are not forgotten and allows for swift action to be taken.
  • Iterate and Review : Review the report for clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Make necessary revisions and check for any missing information. Remember, an incident report is not just a document; it's a tool for learning and improvement.

By following these steps, you can create an incident report that's not just a record of an event, but a valuable resource for understanding, learning, and preventing future incidents. In the next sections, we'll delve deeper into each type of incident report, providing you with specific insights and examples to guide your reporting process .

Benefits of Proper Incident Reporting

  • Improved Safety : By documenting incidents, organizations can identify patterns, uncover risks, and implement measures to prevent future occurrences. This leads to a safer work environment and a culture that prioritizes employee well-being.
  • Ensured Compliance : Many industries have legal or regulatory requirements for incident reporting. Proper reporting ensures that these obligations are met, avoiding potential penalties and maintaining the organization's reputation.
  • Learning Opportunities : Each incident report is a learning opportunity. It provides insights into what went wrong, why it happened, and how it can be prevented, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
  • Accountability and Transparency : Incident reports promote accountability and transparency. They provide a clear record of events, actions taken, and decisions made, ensuring that all stakeholders have access to the same information.

To further illustrate the importance of proper incident reporting, let's contrast it with the risks of inadequate reporting in the table below:

Wrapping Up

Workplace incident reporting is a critical process to ensure you prevent future incidents from occurring. Rather than making mistakes and sweeping them under the rug, organizations can learn from mistakes and improve worker safety. I hope this article has shed some light on how to write an effective incident report. But what are your next steps? Check out our free Incident Report Template that can help you turn an incident into an opportunity to improve worker safety and meet compliance. Download the interactive PDF here.

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How to Write an Incident Report: The Comprehensive Guide

In an ideal world, every working environment would be perfectly safe and there would never be any workplace incidents. But no matter how effective your risk management system may be, accidents can still occur.

And if a work injury or near miss does happen, it is always good to be prepared for the aftermath. The incident needs to be investigated thoroughly and a clear, detailed incident report needs to be prepared.

An incident report is a form that documents any event at the worksite that may or may not have caused illness or injury to workers or property damage. It is also used to capture data about safety and health issues, security breaches, equipment damage, and workplace misconduct.

This article will cover everything you need to know about incident reports, including why they are important, when they must be completed, and how to create a useful incident report.

The Importance of Incident Reports

Incident reporting is meant to record an incident, determine a possible root cause for it, document corrective actions implemented (or to be implemented) to prevent future occurrences, and communicate all this information concisely to stakeholders. An incident report can also be used as a safety document to indicate risks and uncontrolled hazards in the workplace. 

Here’s why incident reporting is important:

  • When an incident occurs, documenting and reporting the details via an incident report form creates accountability and ensures that corrective actions are taken immediately. This can help prevent similar or even worse incidents in the future.
  • It allows for effective communication of hazards and threats (e.g., equipment malfunction, employee misconduct, absence of PPEs, etc.) in the workplace. This raises awareness among both workers and management and everyone can work together to institute preventive measures to mitigate the hazards.
  • It serves as evidence of compliance in case of issues related to health and safety regulations.
  • A database of incident reports enables you to analyze trends and patterns and find overall gaps in your safety programs.
  • It creates a habit of safety accountability, which is a key aspect of a strong safety culture in the workplace.

When to Write an Incident Report

Incident report: 2 people administering first aid to a person that collapsed

Ideally, an incident report must be completed as soon as an incident occurs, with minor injuries and near misses given as much importance as major injuries or adverse events. This ensures that the people involved as well as witnesses can remember details clearly enough to fill the incident report form accurately. Investigating the incident can take a while, so the incident report may take days to complete, but an initial report should be started immediately.

Also, depending on the OSHA regulations in your region and the severity of the incident, you may be legally required to report an incident with OSHA or your local law enforcement within a given timeframe.

There are four main types of incidents that must be reported:

  • Sentinel events or unexpected events which result in serious injury or death (e.g., slips, trips, falls, natural disasters, disease outbreak, etc.)
  • Near misses or non-emergencies where the event had the potential to cause harm or injury but did not do so
  • Adverse events that occur when a medicine, vaccine, or medical device causes an adverse reaction and thus harm to the people involved
  • No harm events which potential incidents that might occur due to certain hazards and risks in the workplace. These need to be communicated across the organization to raise awareness about the hazard.

How to Write an Effective Incident Report

Every organization has its own incident reporting process. For example, in some companies, employees may have to file a report directly with their HR or immediate supervisor, while other organizations may have an online incident reporting system. But as a minimum requirement, you should provide an easily accessible incident report form that every employee can complete and submit.

5 Qualities of a Good Incident Report

A good incident report must be detailed, accurate, and convey all information clearly to anyone reading it. Here are some qualities that make an incident report effective.

1. Accuracy

Only an accurate incident report can serve as a guide to prevent future incidents. However, inaccuracies are typically easy to fix as they are often typos and simple errors such as incorrect details about people involved including names and phone numbers, time of the incident, etc.).

To prevent such issues, proofread your report thoroughly before submitting it and double check small details. Also, make sure to provide specific details and avoid vague statements to prevent confusion.

2. Objectivity

A good incident report is objective and supported by facts rather than emotions or opinions. Avoid including anything subjective in the report such as opinionated or biased statements and make sure to include all sides of the story. Where possible, include quantifiable measurements. If you include statements from people involved or witnesses, quote them using their full names to make everything verifiable.

3. Completeness

An incident report should cover all angles about an incident, as well as the causes and corrective actions to be implemented. Cover all the essential questions (who was involved, what happened, and when, where, why, and how did it happen). Ensure that you capture information from anyone who was involved as well as witnesses and the incident investigation team.

4. Graphic Details

To make the report clearer and easier to understand, include photos (of the injury, damage, and environment), diagrams, illustrations, and graphs to supplement the facts stated.

5. Validity

To ensure that your report is valid and objective, all relevant stakeholders (victims, witnesses, manager, etc.) should sign off to validate all the information mentioned in the report.

10 Things to Include in an Incident Report

Person holding a form while taking a photo of a damaged car

Your accident report must state all the essential information about the incident, including descriptions, witness and victim statements, and more. Here’s some information that every incident report must contain.

The specific date, time, and location of the incident is fundamental to any incident report. This is necessary for clarity, and may prove valuable if further investigation into the incident is needed.

2. Environment

Record any physical and environmental conditions that may have contributed to the incident, including potential hazards found in the area. Examples include inadequate lighting, malfunctioning equipment, a glare or blind spot obstructing visibility, or a leaking ceiling.

In addition to the environment, consider the events leading up to the incident. Consider what the people involved were doing and how they were feeling (relaxed, stressed, sick?) at the time. This is important as some of the factors may have contributed to the incident’s occurrence, while others may have been caused by the incident.

4. Victim(s)

Mention the details of everyone involved in and/or affected by the incident. The details would include the names, job titles, department, and the supervisors/managers of the people involved in the incident.

5. Injuries

The incident report should contain detailed descriptions of all injuries that occurred, including the body part(s) injured, the nature and extent of the injury, and the severity of the injury.

6. Treatment

Make sure to mention any initial or first aid treatment (including bandaging, medications, etc.) administered on the affected people. This information is especially important when understanding how the employee recovers from the incident.

7. Damages to Property and Equipment

Record all assets, materials, facilities, and equipment that were damaged by the incident. This helps to get an overall picture of the impact caused by the incident. It would also be useful while analyzing the event for corrective action and identifying what needs to be repaired or replaced in the aftermath of the incident.

8. Witnesses

Get detailed accounts of the incident from any witnesses to understand their perspective. Since these are subjective accounts, it is important to ensure accuracy by confirming details with the witnesses. It also helps to review the report with them once it’s complete to confirm that they agree with what you have written.

9. Actions of People Involved

Use statements from victims and witnesses to create a picture of what people were doing when the incident occurred. This description must be detailed and include quantitative measurements if possible. For example, if an employee was injured by an object falling on them, include answers to questions like:

  • What was the employee doing (lifting the object or walking past as it fell)?
  • If the employee was lifting the object, was there any precaution they could have taken to ensure it didn’t fall?
  • What kind of object was it and what was its weight?
  • What body part did the object fall on?

10. Descriptive Account With Supporting Evidence

Based on all the information collected and analyzed, create a story describing what happened and how and why it occurred. To back up the story, include photographic or video documentation of both the event and its aftermath.

While the above list is by no means exhaustive, it contains most of the general information that every incident report must contain. Besides this, specific information related to your workplace or industry and the incident itself would need to be added.

Use an Online Platform to Make Incident Reporting Easier

Filling up an incident report quickly but accurately is prone to errors if done manually. Besides, if you keep manual incident report forms at some part of the worksite, they may get lost or be inaccessible if the workplace is large and the incident has taken place far away.

Using a platform such as Pulpstream’s Incident Management Solution can make the process easier. With Pulpstream, you can:

  • Collect and store data related to the incident in one place
  • Create a convenient online incident report form that employees can easily access on an intuitive dashboard
  • Analyze your data easily using sophisticated analytics tools
  • Store incident report form templates and samples so that employees have a better idea of how it should look
  • Disseminate the incident report to all stakeholders and store it in a common location, accessible by all relevant employees
  • Schedule follow-ups on the investigation or the corrective action implementation, if necessary

You can access all these capabilities and more with Pulpstream. Book a free demo today!

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writing a report on an incident

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How to Write an Effective Incident Report: Tips and Tricks

How to Write an Effective Incident Report: Tips and Tricks

Have you ever been involved in an workplace incident or witnessed one that required documentation? Writing an incident report can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not sure where to start.

If you’re tasked with writing an incident report, it’s essential to know what information to include and how to present it. In this article, we’ll provide you with tips and tricks on how to write an effective incident report that will help you communicate the details of the event clearly and concisely. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a new employee, these tips will help you produce a comprehensive and accurate incident report.

In this article

What is an incident report.

An incident report is a standardised form used to document any unexpected event that occurs in the workplace. The form contains fields that require detailed information about the incident, such as its location, date, time, type of incident, type of injury, and names of people involved.

The incident report may also include witness statements, photos, and any relevant supporting documents. Incident reports can be used to analyse the cause of accidents or incidents, identify trends, and develop strategies to prevent them from occurring again.

They play a critical role in workplace safety by providing a comprehensive account of any incidents that may compromise the safety of employees or visitors.

Why are incident reports important in Workplace Safety?

Creating a culture of safety in the workplace is a continuous process. Incident reports help employers identify potential hazards, take corrective measures, and prevent future occurrences. Some of the reasons why incident reports are essential in workplace safety include:

  • Meet Regulatory Requirements: Incident reports are typically required by regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with workplace safety regulations.
  • Identify potential hazards: Incident reports help identify potential hazards in the workplace that may compromise the safety of employees or visitors.
  • Take corrective measures: Incident reports are critical in taking corrective measures to prevent future occurrences by identifying root causes and implementing appropriate solutions.
  • Develop safety procedures: Incident reports can be used to develop safety procedures that can be communicated to employees to avoid accidents or incidents.
  • Improve safety culture: Creating a culture of safety in the workplace is essential in preventing accidents or incidents. Incident reports help develop a culture of safety by identifying potential hazards, taking corrective measures, and providing training to employees.

Why Writing an Effective Report is Important

When an incident occurs in the workplace, it is essential to record the details accurately and completely. This record is known as an incident report. Reporting an incident is not only about documenting what happened but also creating a record that informs decision-making and improves safety practices in the workplace.

An effective report is crucial to identify the causes of the incident and develop corrective measures that could prevent similar incidents in the future. The report should detail the sequence of events leading up to the incident and provide information about any hazards that were present.

An effective report also plays a critical role in making decisions that impact workplace safety. For example, it can help identify trends and patterns in incidents, which can inform appropriate safety practices and policies. The report may also provide evidence for compensation claims and help establish compliance with regulatory requirements, which is particularly relevant to workplaces that operate in high-risk industries.

To ensure an effective report, it is essential to follow a structured approach. A well-structured report should include a clear description of the incident, the date and time it occurred, the location of the incident, the type of incident that occurred, and details of any injuries sustained. It is helpful to provide a factual account of the events leading up to the incident and identify the underlying causes of the incident.

Key Elements of an Effective Incident Report

These elements are crucial for organizations to identify the root cause of the incident, take corrective actions, and ensure that the incident does not recur. Adhering to these key elements in your incident report writing will enhance the quality, effectiveness, and overall support of future safety efforts in your organisation.

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An effective incident report should contain the following key elements.

Person(s) involved details

Understanding the people involved in an incident report.

In any incident report, it is essential to provide a clear understanding of the individuals involved. This includes their names, job titles, and how they were affected by the incident.

Names and Job Titles

When detailing the people involved in an incident report, it is essential to provide their names and job titles. This helps to provide clarity for those who will be reading the report and ensures that all parties are accurately identified.

Overview of Involvement

In addition to their names and job titles, it is necessary to provide a brief summary of how each person was involved in the incident. This includes whether they were injured, witnessed the incident, or were responsible for responding to and investigating the incident.

It is crucial to include any witnesses to the incident in an incident report, providing details on what they saw and heard. This provides an additional perspective to the incident and can help to provide vital information for the investigation.

Other Relevant Parties

Depending on the nature of the incident, other relevant parties may be involved in the response and investigation. These may include emergency services personnel, safety officials, or company owners. It is important to detail their involvement in the incident and how they were affected by it.

An effective incident report should accurately detail the people involved in the incident, including their names, job titles and a summary of their involvement. This report must include details on any witnesses and other relevant parties, providing a comprehensive overview of the incident for those who need to refer to it.

Incident details

When writing an incident report, the details of the event are critical. This section should be clear, concise, and contain accurate and complete information about the incident. Here are some important details to include:

Date, Time, and Location

It is vital to include the date, time, and location of the incident in the report. This helps to establish a clear timeline of the event and provides a point of reference for any ongoing investigations. These details should be as specific as possible, including the exact time of the incident and the exact location where it occurred.

Type of Incident and Potential Hazards

The incident report should clearly outline the type of incident that occurred. Was it a workplace incident, an environmental incident, a natural disaster, or a medical incident? This information will help to determine the appropriate response and corrective actions required.

In addition to the type of incident, it’s important to mention any potential hazards or dangers that were present. This could include things like chemicals, machinery, or environmental factors like inclement weather.

Relevant Aspects

It’s important to provide as many relevant details as possible in the incident report to help avoid future occurrences. This includes any factors that may have contributed to the incident, such as human error, equipment failures, or communication breakdowns.

This section can also include any information that may help to improve safety culture. For example, if the incident was preventable, it can be used as a teaching tool to highlight areas for improvement and reinforce the importance of safety procedures and protocols.

In summary, the incident details section of an incident report should contain accurate and complete information about the event, including the date, time, and location, the type of incident, potential hazards, and any relevant aspects that could help avoid future occurrences or improve safety culture.

Incident description

The incident description should provide a clear account of what occurred and should include as many details as possible. This includes the circumstances surrounding the incident, any potential hazards or warning signs, and any previous similar incidents.

It is also important to list any witnesses who were present during the incident, as well as any involved parties, including their names and job titles. This information can be critical for ongoing investigations and for taking corrective actions to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

If applicable, it’s also important to note any natural disasters that may have contributed to the incident, such as a flood, earthquake, or severe storm.

An incident report should also include information about the equipment involved in the incident, including the extent of the damage to the asset. In some cases, it may be necessary to include photographs of the equipment to accurately depict the damage.

Lastly, if there were any psychological injuries that resulted from the incident, it is important to document these injuries as well. This can include any emotional or mental distress that may have been experienced by those involved.

Overall, by providing a thorough incident description, organisations can gain valuable insights into the cause of the incident and can take corrective actions to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.

Injured worker on the way to fill out an incident report.

Injury details

When documenting an incident report, it is crucial to provide a detailed account of the injuries sustained during the incident. This information can provide valuable insights into the safety hazards present in the workplace and can help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Nature and Extent of the Injury

It is essential to outline the nature and extent of the injury. This includes the specific body part that was injured, such as a broken bone or sprained ankle. Additionally, the severity of the injury should be documented, ranging from minor to severe, and any other relevant details that provide a clear picture of the extent of the harm caused by the incident.

Medical Treatment

Injured individuals may require medical attention for their injuries, ranging from first aid to emergency care. It is essential to document the type of medical treatment provided, including the name of any medical professionals involved in the treatment, any emergency services used, and the duration of the treatment. If further medical appointments or follow-up treatments are necessary, these should also be documented to establish a clear understanding of the full impact of the incident on the affected person.

Hazards and Safety Issues

Based on the nature and extent of the injury, it is essential to identify any potential hazards or safety issues that may have contributed to the injury. These hazards could include inadequate training, lack of protective equipment, poor lighting, or hazardous working conditions. Addressing these safety issues will help prevent similar future incidents from happening again.

Impact on the Involved Person and Compensation Claims

Finally, the impact of the injury on the individual involved should be documented. This includes any long-term implications resulting from the injury, such as ongoing pain or the inability to participate in activities previously enjoyed. If the injury has resulted in the need for time off, this should be recorded, along with any impact on the individual’s ability to work. Depending on the circumstances, the injury may also have resulted in a compensation claim. If so, details on the claim should be added to the incident report.

The injury details are essential to include in an incident report and should provide an accurate representation of the nature and extent of the injury, medical treatment required, any potential hazards or safety issues, and the impact of the injury on the involved person, including any compensation claims that may arise.

Workplace injuries can be reduced by implementing injury reporting

Corrective actions

Corrective actions are a critical aspect of the incident reporting process. Once an incident has been reported, the next step is to identify the root cause of the event and take corrective and preventive action (CAPA) to ensure that similar occurrences never happen again.

Here are the necessary steps to address corrective actions in an incident report:

1. Determine the root cause:

The first step is to investigate the incident by identifying the root cause. Conduct a thorough analysis of the incident, which should include gathering relevant data and information from all available sources to understand the contributing factors to the event. This step will allow you to identify the underlying cause and pinpoint what changes need to be made to prevent future occurrences.

2. Formulate appropriate corrective and preventive action (CAPA):

After identifying the root cause, it is essential to formulate the appropriate corrective and preventive action (CAPA). The solution should be tailored to address the root cause and prevent the occurrence of similar events. This is where team members and stakeholders can come in to contribute their knowledge and expertise.

3. Specify the actions of those involved:

The incident report should also specify the actions of those involved at the time of the incident. This information will allow the report to determine if those involved were trained properly for the task. If not, the report will highlight the gaps in their training and what action should be taken to fill those gaps.

4. Take action after the incident:

In addition to corrective actions, it is essential to take action after the incident. This step involves implementing measures that would eliminate future occurrences of similar incidents. This can include assigning members of the organization to review security footage and maintenance records to clarify the event’s cause fully.

Finally, it’s essential to track the progress of the corrective and preventive action taken and review it regularly to ensure that the new system is working. This step will allow you to adjust the system if necessary and make improvements to the process. By following these necessary steps, the incident report can serve as a vital tool for identifying gaps in safety processes and implementing corrective actions to prevent future incidents.

Incident close out

Incident Close Out: Steps to Effectively Close an Incident Report

Closing out an incident report is a crucial step in any incident management process. It allows for a review of the incident and the implementation of corrective actions to prevent future occurrences. Here are the steps you should take to effectively close out an incident report:

1. Review and Document Corrective Actions

After an incident has occurred, it’s important to conduct a review process to identify the root cause. Once the root cause has been determined, the appropriate corrective actions should be formulated and documented. Ensure that all relevant stakeholders have been involved in the process, and that the corrective actions taken are effective in addressing the root cause.

2. Notify Involved Parties

After corrective actions have been completed, it’s important to notify all involved parties of the incident closure. This communication can be done through email or meetings, depending on the size and complexity of the incident.

3. File and Store Relevant Documents

All relevant documents, including the incident report and any corrective action plans, should be filed and stored in a secure location for future reference. This documentation provides a record of the incident and the steps that were taken to address it.

4. Assess Potential Hazards

Incident close out provides an opportunity to assess potential hazards and consider measures that can be put in place to prevent future occurrences. Conduct a hazard assessment in the relevant areas and take appropriate preventive actions where necessary.

5. Review the Incident Reporting Process

Incident close out provides a valuable opportunity to review the incident reporting process and make any necessary changes to improve its effectiveness. Evaluate the process to ensure that it covers all relevant aspects of incident reporting and that it’s easy to use.

By following these steps, you can effectively close out an incident report and ensure that all involved parties are aware of the corrective actions taken. Conducting a review process and making any necessary changes to the incident reporting process improves the overall safety culture and minimizes the likelihood of future incidents.

Filling out an injury report.

Tips for Writing an Effective Incident Report

Writing an effective incident report is crucial in managing workplace safety and preventing future incidents. By documenting the details of an incident, it provides clarity on what occurred, what actions were taken, and how it could be prevented in the future. Here are some tips on how to write an effective incident report.

Stay Objective and Factual in Your Reporting

When it comes to incident reporting, it is critical to stay objective and factual in your writing. The goal is to provide an accurate account of what happened without speculating or editorializing. This will not only help to avoid misunderstandings but also to ensure that the report effectively communicates the details of the incident to those who need to know.

To stay objective in your incident report writing, it is important to focus on describing the events that occurred and how they affected those involved. This means avoiding excessive detail and subjective language, and instead, using objective language wherever possible. It is also important to stick to the facts and avoid speculating about causes or motives.

The key information that needs to be included in the report includes the date and time of the incident, a clear description of what happened, names of involved parties, witness statements, and type/severity of injury or equipment damage (if applicable). It’s important to avoid omitting any details that may be relevant and to provide an accurate and complete account of what happened.

Including witness statements can be particularly valuable, as they can provide insight into what happened, and can help to corroborate the details of the incident. However, it’s important to ensure that witness statements are accurate, and to avoid attempting to fill in any gaps through speculation.

In summary, staying objective and factual in your incident report writing means providing an accurate and complete account of what happened without speculating or editorializing. By using objective language, focusing on describing the events that occurred and how they affected those involved, and including all relevant details, you can ensure that your report is clear, concise, and effective. Ultimately, this approach will help to avoid misunderstandings and facilitate effective communication.

Include All Necessary Information in Your Report

When it comes to writing an incident report, it is vital to include all necessary information to ensure accurate and complete documentation of the event. Here are some essential elements you must include in your report while following the given instructions:

1. Start with a clear and detailed description of the incident:

Begin your report by describing the incident that occurred in detail. Clearly state the date, time and location of the event. This information will help to provide context and enable a reader to understand when and where the incident took place.

2. Explain any injuries or damages sustained:

Provide a thorough account of injuries, including any physical harm to people or damage to equipment or property, that occurred during the incident. It is important to describe the injuries in detail, including the type and extent of the injuries, to accurately convey the severity of the incident.

3. List all involved parties and witnesses:

Be sure to include the names of all parties involved in the incident, including any witnesses who may have seen or heard what happened. This information can help in conducting further investigations and can also assist in determining corrective actions to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

4. Note any emergency services that responded:

If emergency services were called to the incident location, be sure to include information on the type of service that was provided and the response time. This is particularly important for incidents that involved injuries or significant damage or posed a potential threat to the safety of people or the environment.

5. Identify any potential hazards or regulatory requirements:

In the report, highlight any potential hazards or regulatory requirements that may have contributed to the incident. This can include non-compliance with safety regulations, improper use of equipment, or a lack of proper training or resources. Providing this information will help to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future and promote a safer work culture.

By including all necessary information in your incident report, you can ensure that all involved parties are accounted for, and appropriate actions can be taken to minimize the risk of similar incidents occurring in the future.

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Investigation Report Example: How to Write an Investigative Report

Here’s how to write an investigation report that is clear, complete, and compliant.

Do you dread the end of an investigation because you hate writing investigative reports? You’re not alone.

However, because it’s an important showcase of the investigation, you can’t skimp on this critical investigation step. Your investigation report reflects on you and your investigation, so make sure it’s as clear, comprehensive, accurate, and polished.

How do you write an investigation report? What are the parts of an investigation report? What's an investigation report example? In this guide, you’ll learn how to make your reports effective and efficient.

How mature are your workplace investigations?

An investigations maturity model can reveal your investigations program's strong points and areas for improvement. Learn how to evaluate your program in our upcoming fireside chat with investigations expert Meric Bloch.

Table of Contents

What is the importance of an investigative report.

  • How to Write an Investigative Report: "Musts"

Executive Summary

Preliminary case information, incident summary, allegation subject, investigation details & notes, investigation interviews, conclusion & recommendations, final edits, how case iq can help.

An investigation report can:

  • Spark some sort of action based on the findings it presents
  • Record of the steps of the investigation
  • Provide information for legal actions
  • Provide valuable data to inform control and preventive measures

In short, your report documents what happened during the investigation and suggests what to do next.

In addition, the process of writing an investigation report can help you approach the investigation in a new way. You might think of more questions to ask the parties involved or understand an aspect of the incident that was unclear.

How to Write an Investigative Report: “Musts”

Before you begin, it’s important to understand the three critical tasks of a workplace investigative report.

  • It must be organized in a such way that anybody internally or externally can understand it without having to reference other materials. That means it should have little to no jargon or specialized language and be a stand-alone summary of your investigation from start to finish.
  • It must document the investigative findings objectively and accurately and provide decision makers with enough information to determine whether they should take further action.  With just one read-through, stakeholders should be able to understand what happened and how to handle it.
  • It must indicate whether the allegations were substantiated, unsubstantiated, or whether there’s something missing that is needed to reach a conclusion. Use the evidence you’ve gathered to back up your analysis.

You might be wondering, “What are the contents of an investigation report?” Now that you know what your report should accomplish, we’ll move on to the sections it should include.

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The executive summary should be a concise overview of the investigation from beginning to end. It should not contain any information that is not already in the investigation report.

This may be the most important component of the investigation report because many readers won’t need to go beyond this section. High-level stakeholders get an overall picture of the allegations, investigation, and outcome without having to pore over the details.

To make this section easy to read, write in an active voice. For example: “I interviewed Carrie Smith,” not “Carrie Smith was interviewed.”

Example:   On February 23 rd , 2023, the Human Resources Manager received a written complaint of sexual harassment submitted by Carrie Smith, the stockroom manager. Smith claimed that on February 22 nd , 2023, her supervisor, Mark Robinson, pushed her against the wall in the boardroom and groped her breasts. Smith also alleged that Robinson on another occasion told her she was “too pretty” to be working in the stockroom and that he could arrange for a promotion for her. 

On February 24th, the Human Resources Manager assigned the case to me.

On February 25th, I interviewed Carrie Smith and two witnesses to the alleged February 22 nd  incident, John Jones and Pamela Miller. Jones and Miller did not corroborate the groping allegation but said they saw Smith running out of the boardroom in tears. Miller also reported hearing Robinson tell another employee, Sara Brown, that she had “a great rack”. 

On February 26 th , I interviewed Mark Robinson. He denied the groping incident and said he was “just joking around” with her in the boardroom but did not actually touch her and that Smith was too sensitive. He admitted to telling Smith she was too pretty to work in the stockroom, but contends that it was meant as a compliment.

Based on the interviews with the complainant and the alleged offender, I find that the complainant’s allegation of sexual harassment is substantiated.

It is my recommendation that the company provide the respondent with a written account of the findings of the investigation and a reminder of the company’s expectations for employee behavior. I also recommend that the respondent receive sexual harassment training and be advised that repeated harassing behavior may result in further discipline up to and including termination.

This section outlines the preliminary case information in a concise format, with only the most important details. It can go either before or after the executive summary.

  • Your name and investigator identification number, if you have one
  • Case number
  • Date the case was assigned to you
  • The date the report was reviewed
  • How the report was received (e.g. hotline, email to HR manager, verbal report to supervisor)
  • Name of the reporter/complainant

If the reporter is an employee, record their:

  • Email address
  • Work telephone number
  • Employment level/position
  • Employee identification number
  • Department identification number

If the source  is not an employee, only record their:

  • Personal telephone number

In either case, note the date that the report was submitted, as well as the date(s) of the alleged incident(s).

The purpose of this section is to answer the who, what, where, and when about the incident.

  • What type of case is it? For example, is the case alleging harassment, discrimination, fraud, or other workplace misconduct?
  • Specify the case type further.  For example, is it  sexual  harassment,  gender  discrimination,  accounts payable  fraud, etc.
  • Who is the alleged victim?  For example, is it the reporter, another employee, a customer, or the whole company?
  • If the alleged victim is an employee, identify the person’s supervisor.
  • Were any other people involved besides the subject and the alleged victim?
  • Where did the incident(s) take place?
  • When did the incident(s) occur?
  • Capture details of the allegation.  Example : Stacey Smith alleges that John Jones, an accounts payables clerk, has been funneling payments to a dummy supplier that he has set up in the company’s procurement system. Stacey says that she noticed a discrepancy when one of the suppliers she deals with questioned a payment and she had to ask an accounts payable clerk, Tom Tierney, to pull the file for her. When Tom accidentally brought Stacey the wrong file, she saw that monthly payments were being made to a supplier she had never heard of, and that the address of the supplier was John Jones’s address. Stacey knows John’s address because her sister is John’s next-door neighbor.

Describe the allegation or complaint in simple, clear language. Avoid using jargon, acronyms, or technical terms that the average reader outside the company may not understand.

In this section, note details about the alleged bad actor. Some of this information might be included in the initial report/complaint, but others you might have to dig for, especially if the subject isn’t an employee of the organization.

For every subject, include their:

  • Email (work contact if they’re an employee, personal if not)
  • Telephone number (see above)

If the subject of the allegation is an employee, also include their:

  • Employment status (e.g. full-time, part-time, intern, contractor, etc.)
  • Business location

Begin outlining the investigation details by defining the scope. It’s important to keep the scope of the investigation focused narrowly on the allegation and avoid drawing separate but related investigations into the report.

Example:   The investigation will focus on the anonymous tip received through the whistleblower hotline. The objective of the investigation is to determine whether the allegation reported via the hotline is true or false.

Next, record a description of each action taken during the investigation. This becomes a diary of your investigation, showing everything that was done during the investigation, who did it, and when.

For each action, outline:

  • Type of action (e.g. initial review, meeting, contacting parties, conducting an interview, following up)
  • Person responsible for the action
  • Date when the action was completed
  • Brief description of the action (i.e. who you met with, where, and for how long)

Be thorough and detailed, because this section of your report can be an invaluable resource if you are ever challenged on any details of your investigation.

Write a summary of each interview. These should be brief outlines listed separately for each interview.

Include the following information:

  • Who conducted the interview
  • Who was interviewed
  • Where the interview took place
  • Date of the interview

Include a list of people who refused to be interviewed or could not be interviewed and why.

Write a Report for Each Interview

This is an expanded version of the summaries documented above. Even though some of the information is repeated, be sure to include it so that you can use the summaries and reports separately as standalone documentation of the interviews conducted.

For each interview, document:

  • Location of the interview
  • Summary of the substance of the interview, based on your interview notes or recording.

Example:   I asked Jane Jameson to describe the events of July 13 th , 2016. She said: “After work, Peter approached me as I was leaving the building and asked me if I would like to work on his team. When I said that I was happy working with my current team, he told me that my team had too many women on it and that ‘all those hormones are causing problems’ so I should think about moving to a ‘sane’ team.”

I asked her how she reacted to that. She said: I told him that I found that offensive and he said that I needed to stop being so sensitive. I just walked away.”

I asked Jane to describe the events of the next day. She said: “The next day he came to my desk and asked me if I had given any thought to moving to his team. I repeated that I was happy where I was. At that point he started massaging my shoulders and said that moving to his team would have its ‘perks’. I asked him to stop twice and he wouldn’t. Sally walked over and told him to get lost and ‘leave Jane alone’ and he left.”

I thanked Jane for her cooperation and concluded the interview.

Assess Credibility

Aside from collecting the evidence, it is also an investigator’s job to analyze the evidence and reach a conclusion. Include a credibility assessment for each interview subject in the interview report. Describe your reasons for determining that the interviewee is or isn’t a credible source of information.

This involves assessing the credibility of the witness. The EEOC has published guidelines that recommend examining the following factors:

  • Plausibility – Is the testimony believable and does it make sense?
  • Demeanor – Did the person seem to be telling the truth?
  • Motive to falsify – Does the person have a reason to lie?
  • Corroboration – Is there testimony or evidence that corroborates the witness’s account?
  • Past record – Does the subject have a history of similar behavior?

Example:   I consider Jane to be a credible interviewee based on the corroboration of her story with Sally and also because she has nothing to gain by reporting these incidents. She has no prior relationship with Peter and seemed genuinely upset by his behavior.

A well-written report is the only way to prove that an investigation was carried out thoroughly.

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In this section, describe all the evidence obtained. This could include:

  • Video or audio footage
  • Email or messaging (e.g. Slack, Teams, etc.) records
  • Employee security access records
  • Computer or other device login records
  • Documents or papers
  • Physical objects (e.g. photos, posters, broken objects, etc.)

Number each piece of evidence for easy reference in your chain of evidence document.

As you gather and analyze evidence, it’s critically important to include and fully consider everything  you find. Ignoring evidence that doesn’t support your conclusion will undermine your investigation and your credibility as an investigator. If you aren’t weighing some pieces as heavily as others, make sure you have a good explanation as to why.

In the final section of your report, detail your findings and conclusion. In other words, answer the questions that your investigation set out to answer.

This is where your analysis comes into play. However, be sure to only address the issue(s) being examined only, and don’t include any information that is not supported by fact. Otherwise, you could be accused of bias or speculation if the subject challenges your findings.

Investigation Findings Example:   My findings indicate that, based on the evidence, Bill’s allegation that Jim blocked him from the promotion is true. Jim’s behavior towards Bill is consistent with the definition of racial discrimination. The company’s code of conduct forbids discrimination; therefore, Jim’s behavior constitutes employee misconduct.

It’s important for your conclusion to be defensible, based on the evidence you have presented in your investigation report. Reference reliable evidence that is relevant to the case. Finally, explain that you’ve considered all the evidence, not just pieces that support your conclusion.

In some cases, you might have been asked to provide recommendations, too. Depending on your conclusion, you may recommend that the company:

  • Does nothing
  • Provides counselling or training
  • Disciplines the employee(s)
  • Transfers the employee(s)
  • Terminates or demotes the employee(s)

Example: It is my recommendation that the company provide the respondent (Jim) with a written account of the findings of the investigation and a reminder of the company’s expectations for employee behavior. I also recommend that the respondent (Jim) receive anti-discrimination training and be advised that repeated discriminatory behavior may result in further discipline up to and including termination.

Grammatical errors or missed words can take even the best investigation report from professional to sloppy. That’s why checking your work before submitting the report is perhaps the most important step of them all.

Keep in mind that your investigative report may be seen by your supervisors, directors, and even C-level executives in your company, as well as attorneys and judges if the case goes to court.

If spelling, grammar, and punctuation aren’t your strong suit, enlist the services of a writer-friend or colleague to proofread your report. Or, if you’re a lone wolf kind of worker, upgrade your skills with a writing course or a read-through of books like  The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. At the very least, remember to run a spell check before you pass on any document to others.

Finally, do a quick scan to make sure you’ve included all the necessary sections and that case details are consistent.

Want more report-writing tips?

Watch our free webinar to get advice on what to include (and not include), proper language and tone, formatting tips, and more on how to effectively make an investigation report.

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Learn more about how Case IQ can reduce resolution time and improve your organization’s investigations here.

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  • International

1 person dead, more than 20 wounded in shooting following Super Bowl parade

By Tori B. Powell , Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury , CNN

FBI and police requesting videos, tips from Super Bowl parade shooting

From CNN’s Sara Smart

The FBI has  set up a website  asking for tips or videos from the Super Bowl parade shooting that took place on Tuesday afternoon in Kansas City.

“FBI and KCPD are requesting any videos from the Super Bowl shooting and any video of shooters attempting to flee the scene,” the website says in part.

Anyone with any information, photos, or videos is encouraged by police and the FBI to submit them to the website.

Missouri legislator who survived shooting alongside 5-year-old daughter now mourns slain DJ

Manny Abarca speaks during an interview with CNN.

A Missouri legislator who survived the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting on Wednesday, along with his 5-year-old daughter, told CNN that he is now mourning the loss of his long-time friend, who died after being shot at the scene.

Manny Abarca, the treasurer of the Kansas City Public School Board, told CNN’s Laura Coates that he and his daughter had left the main stage area when they heard screams and saw a flood of people running toward them.

He said he immediately picked up his daughter and sheltered in a nearby restaurant with other Kansas City Chiefs players, owners, family members, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

Abarca said his daughter went into “protocol mode” and told her father: “This is like training.”

Abarca was a lifelong friend of Lisa Lopez-Galvan , who died during the shooting. He noted that she was a mother and embraced the Latino culture while working at the local radio station.

“Such a tragic loss both to our community and also to her family,” he added.

Abarca said multiple family members who were with Lopez-Galvan at the parade were among those wounded.

Local DJ died in rally shooting, radio station says

From CNN’s Amanda Jackson

An undated photo of Lisa Lopez-Galvan.

Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Kansas City-area radio DJ, died after being shot at the Chiefs victory rally, according to a post shared by her employer, KKFI radio 90.1 FM.

“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life,” the station  shared on Facebook . 

Police have not provided any details surrounding her death.

“Lisa was one of our programmers/DJs on Taste of Tejano. Like all our programmers, she was a volunteer who donated her time and talent to KKFI. Along with her co-producer/DJ Tommy Andrade, their show has brought a voice to the KC community that is missed in the mainstream media," Kelly Dougherty, the station's director of development and communications, said in an email to CNN.

“We are absolutely devastated at the loss of such an amazing person who gave so much to KKFI and the KC community," Dougherty added.

Lopez-Galvan's bio on the station's website said she thought music “is Iife and a source of happiness." She worked as a bilingual private DJ for over 15 years before becoming a co-host of Taste of Tejano in March of 2022.

A Missouri legislator who attended the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl celebration parade with his 5-year-old daughter told CNN that multiple family members of Lopez-Galvan were among those wounded.

This post has been updated to add the legislator's comment.

Biden says shooting should “shock us, shame us into acting” and urges Congress to enact gun laws

From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg

President Joe Biden called on Congress and the country to act in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting following a parade for the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. 

“It is time to act. That’s where I stand. And I ask the country to stand with me. To make your voice heard in Congress so we finally act to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them or handling them,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.  

Biden remarked that the Super Bowl win should have been a joyous occasion.

“For this joy to be turned to tragedy today in Kansas City cuts deep in the American soul. Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting. What are we waiting for? What else do we need to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?”

Kamala Harris calls on Congress to pass “reasonable gun safety laws” after Kansas City shooting

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at campaign rally in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on February 2.

Vice President Kamala Harris called on Congress members to pass “reasonable gun safety laws” after Wednesday’s shooting following a parade for the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. 

“The reality of it is a lot of this can be prevented if members of legislatures, including the United States Congress, just have the courage to act with reasonable gun safety law,” Harris told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before stepping aboard Air Force 2 en route to the Munich Security Conference.

Harris added that her prayers are with those who have been affected by the shooting. 

In September 2023, President Joe Biden established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and tasked the vice president with overseeing the office.

Man who tackled individual with weapon after Super Bowl shooting describes the moment: "It's just a reaction"

A man who tackled an individual who had a weapon following today's deadly shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, described the moment on CNN this evening.

"You don't think about it. It's just a reaction," Paul Contreras told CNN's Erin Burnett, who showed video of the moment he tackled the person.

Contreras described hitting the individual from behind and knocking the gun out of their possession. Contreras and another person who was attending the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebrations then tackled the gunman to the ground and waited for police to show up and take over, Contreras said.

"He was fighting the whole time," he said of the gunman. "And we were fighting him to keep him down."

Contreras's daughter, who shot the video of the incident, said, "It all happened so fast."

"I didn't want to leave my dad's side because who knew what could've happened or if they needed help," Alyssa Marsh Contreras told CNN.

It's unclear if the person who was tackled by Contreras was one of the three people that Kansas City police said were detained following the shooting.

Watch the interview with Erin Burnett below:

Man describes the moment he tackled alleged Kansas City shooter | CNN

Man describes the moment he tackled alleged Kansas City shooter | CNN

At least 29 people treated after kansas city shooting, including 19 for gunshot injuries, hospitals say.

From CNN’s Raja Razek, Sarah Dewberry Jillian Sykes and Jamiel Lynch

At least 29 people are being treated for injuries following the deadly shooting Wednesday after a massive celebration for the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs in Kansas City, Missouri, according to four local hospitals.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a news conference that 22 people were shot in the incident, one of whom died from their injuries. But the police are still working on the total number of those injured.

The hospitals told CNN that 19 of 29 patients are being treated for gunshot injuries.

  • The University Health Truman Medical Center received 12 victims, eight of whom suffered gunshot wounds, according to Dr. Mark Steele. Of those with gunshot wounds, Steele said that two are in critical condition and six are in stable condition.
  • The University of Kansas Health System is treating one gunshot victim from the incident, according to Alexis Del Cid, an anchor and host with the hospital system's news network. Del Cid had no information on how many may have come to their hospital with other injuries.
  • Children’s Mercy Hospital received 12 patients from the incident, according to Stephenie Meyer, senior vice president and chief nursing officer. Eleven of those are children between the ages of 6 and 15. Nine have gunshot wounds, she said at a news conference. All the patients are expected to fully recover, Meyer added.
  • Three patients walked into St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, according to spokesperson Laurel Gifford. They all have minor injuries. In addition, St. Luke’s is treating one gunshot victim who is in critical condition, she said.

CNN’s Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.

What we know: Children are among those wounded in shooting following parade for Super Bowl champions

From CNN staff

Police respond after shots were fired near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday.

A community that came together to celebrate a dramatic Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory on Sunday is now recovering from a shooting that wounded dozens of people, including children. At least 22 people suffered gunshot injuries and one of them has died, Kansas City officials said Wednesday.

But there is still a lot that police do not know as the investigation gets underway into a tragic ending to a festive day in the Missouri city.

The shooting, which happened after a parade and rally for the Chiefs, is at least the 48th mass shooting in the United States so far this year, according to  the Gun Violence Archive .

Here's what we know so far:

Victims: There are at least 22 people with gunshot wounds , Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said. One of those people has died, said Kansas City Fire Department Interim Chief Ross Grundyson. Some of the shooting victims were children , he added. Officials are still working to identify the person killed.

What we know about the condition of the survivors:

  • 8 had immediately life-threatening injuries and were transported to hospitals within 10 minutes, according to Grundyson.
  • 7 had life-threatening injuries
  • 6 had minor injuries

What happened: The shooting happened on the west side of Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Graves said. Though witnesses described watching officers run into the surrounding buildings, the police chief said the incident happened outside. When officers arrived on the scene, they immediately started helping people who were hurt.

People detained: Graves said police have detained three people for further investigation. She said earlier that officers detained two people when they arrived at the scene, with officers even chasing one person . A video has circulated which shows "some fans tackling someone," she said. Authorities are trying to determine if one of the detained individuals is the same person featured in the video. Graves also said police have recovered firearms .

Key things we don't know yet:

  • How many shots were fired
  • The amount of time between shots
  • Who was the gunman and was there more than one

What is happening now: Police are collecting physical and digital evidence, conducting interviews and asking victims some questions, Graves said. “There’s a lot of work ahead in this is just the beginning stages, but we’re moving as fast as we can,” she said. Federal law enforcement has been assisting, according to the White House.

Reaction: The Kansas City Chiefs organization said in a statement it was saddened by the shooting and called it a "senseless act of violence." The National Football League said its thoughts are "with the victims and everyone affected" and thanked law enforcement. Some  individual players  also shared messages of support on social media.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected," NFL says after shooting

From CNN's Wayne Sterling 

The National Football League issued a statement Wednesday following a deadly shooting that took place at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebrations.

"We are deeply saddened by the senseless shooting that occurred today near the end of the rally in Kansas City for the Chiefs. Our thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected," the league said on X. "We are grateful for the quick and thorough response of law enforcement and emergency personnel."

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Lakewood Church shooting: AR-15 had 'Palestine' sticker, antisemitic writings recovered, police say

The suspect died and two were hurt in the shooting at Joel Osteen's church.

A sticker saying "Palestine" was on the AR-15 rifle a woman used to open fire at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, injuring two, including her son, according to police

Some antisemitic writings have been recovered, but a motive behind the Sunday afternoon shooting has not been determined, according to police.

"We do believe that there was a familial dispute that has taken place between her ex-husband and her ex-husband's family," some of whom are Jewish, police said.

PHOTO: Genesse Moreno in a 2022 booking photo.

MORE: Off-duty officers kill female shooter at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston; 2 victims injured

The suspect, 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, entered the church with her 7-year-old son, and she may have pointed her weapon at a security officer to force her way into the church, police said.

Moreno opened fire with the AR-15 at 1:55 p.m., police said.

PHOTO: Emergency vehicles line the feeder road outside Lakewood Church during a reported active shooter event, Feb. 11, 2024, in Houston.

Two off-duty officers fired back, striking the suspect, police said. She was pronounced dead at 2:07 p.m., police said.

The 7-year-old was shot in the head and is "fighting for his life" in critical condition, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Monday.

PHOTO: Law enforcement surround the area after a shooting incident at television evangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Feb. 11, 2024.

A man believed to be a parishioner was also shot and has since been released from the hospital, Finner said.

Doug Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston field office, stressed that the "number of casualties and victims would have been much higher" without the off-duty officers' "heroic" actions.

Authorities said they believe Moreno acted alone. She also had with her a second gun: a .22-caliber rifle. The AR-15 was purchased legally, police said.

PHOTO: Evacuated parishioners react outside television evangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church after a shooting incident in Houston, Feb. 11, 2024 in a still image from video.

Police said the suspect has "a mental health history that is documented through us and through interviews with family." Police said she was put under an emergency detention order by Houston police in 2016.

Moreno has a number of arrests on her record, which investigators are reviewing, a law enforcement official said.

Moreno allegedly threatened that she had a bomb, police said. Officials searched her car and backpack but nothing was found. She also appeared to be spraying an unknown substance, authorities said.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said Monday that officials determined "there is no risk of exposure to any chemical or product," stressing that the substances were all benign, common products.

PHOTO: First responders gather at the scene after a shooting incident at television evangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Feb. 11, 2024.

MORE: Suspect arrested in violent mugging of 91-year-old man in New York City: Police

The shooting unfolded shortly before the church's 2 p.m. Spanish language service was set to begin.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement, "I will not make any assumptions because information continues to come in as to what motivated the shooter, but I am asking that the investigation look into whether it was a hate crime, given the shooting took place at an all-Spanish service."

Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Monday addressed the city's "diverse community," promising, "We are going to provide you protection." He said security will be increased at Houston's churches, synagogues and mosques.

"Our community is devastated by today's events and grateful for the swift actions of law enforcement," Osteen wrote on social media Sunday. "Please join me in continued prayer for healing and peace."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that the sticker on the shooter's gun said "Palestine," per police, not "Free Palestine."

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  1. How To Write a Work Incident Report (With Example and Tips)

    1. Have all basic facts prepared In order for an incident report to be useful, it is helpful for all facts listed in the report to be specific and accurate. Some of the first and most basic items on the incident report typically include: Your job title Supervisor's name Date Time

  2. How to Write an Incident Report: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

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    #1 Immediate Reinforcement of Actions In the event when an incident happened at work, documenting and reporting the details to the management can induce immediate and necessary measures to be taken (e.g., providing first aid ). By doing this, worse situations and occurrences can be prevented.

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    1) Obtain The Appropriate Incident Report Type. 2) Complete The Administrative Section Of The Report. 3) Completely Fill In Any Victim Information (If Applicable). 4) Completely Fill In Any Witness Information (If Applicable). 5) Complete Any Section Of The Incident Report About Emergency Services Contacted.

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    The primary purpose of writing an incident report is to learn from the mistakes and prevent the recurrence of the same kind of incident in future. This is especially important if there are injuries involved, as it will help workers understand how they can avoid similar accidents in the future.

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    1. Find the Facts To prepare for writing an accident report, you have to gather and record all the facts. For example: Date, time, and specific location of incident Names, job titles, and department of employees involved and immediate supervisor (s) Names and accounts of witnesses Events leading up to incident

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  24. Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting leaves one dead and multiple injured

    One person was killed and more than 20 people were shot in Kansas City, Missouri, after a parade on Wednesday for the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs, according to police. A local DJ was identified as ...

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