Example Underreporting Can Be Serious Business

I have been involved in accident investigations where nonreporting and underreporting went to extremes. I was involved with an investigation where a carpenter sawed off the tips of two fingers with a radial saw and chose to go home and self-treat rather than report the situation as work related. 

An office-type worker is bent over performing filing below a cabinet. This person inadvertently left one of the doors of the cabinet open above. When she stood up, she bumped her head on the cabinet door that was above her, jarring her neck. She chose not to report the injury but chose to go home and self-treat. She later obtained medical attention on her own. She underwent treatment and therapy for more than six months. 

She finally realized that the injury was serious and that surgery would be required. At this point, she came in and made the report. This employee was in tears when she gave the report to her 

In both of these cases, the workers resisted reporting their injuries. In both cases the workers, at least initially, choose to treat their own injuries at home instead of seeking qualified medical help. In both cases there is a likelihood that the overall effect of each injury would have been lessened if the injuries had been promptly reported and proper medical care was obtained in a timely maimer. 

let s look at the big picture. Let s discuss what safety incentive plans are supposed to accomplish and how we can modify these plans during times of economic weakness. Very simply stated, safety incentive plans are one more tool in the toolbox that will help eliminate accidents. How do these incentive plans actually work I believe that when incentive plans are effective, they will raise the workers awareness so they do not commit unsafe acts. (Unsafe acts cause most work-related accidents.) So, if we have an effective safety incentive program, we are more likely to have our workers commit unsafe acts and more unlikely to have accidents or losses. 

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