American Insurance NW, Inc. has developed a BUSINESS ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT form.  We recommend every business use a form of this type to document all accidents (except automobile) on your premises or because of your products or operations, immediately after they happen. You may not know if you have a claim until a lawsuit is filed nearly three (3) years later!

RISK MANAGEMENT & CLAIM MANAGEMENT:  Completing and documenting this form after an accident, even if there is no apparent injury to the public or property damage, will provide you the vital information you need to defend yourself later.  To implement a business-wide documentation process, this form should be supplied to all Managers to keep on hand when an accident occurs. Managers should inform employees to report any accident (like a customer slip or trip/fall) and take the time to converse with the person who may have been hurt to document the facts.

What to say? Do not admit or assume liability. It is best to say, "I'm sorry that you had an accident. I would like to get your name and information so that we can talk later if we need to."  Then complete the form fully and be as specific as you can be.   

CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE FORM:  RM-CLAIMS-IncidentReportForm-Premises-color.pdf

NEAR MISSES: We also recommend this form be used to document any observed near misses. Managers can use near misses to make changes and reduce potential  future claims.