Accidents happen, and for a business, they can be quite costly.
To prevent future losses, accident investigation can be an important tool to help businesses determine why an accident happened, then take steps to prevent the same type of accident from happening again.
“If you’re having a series of similar accidents, eventually you’re going to have a severe one — that million-dollar claim,” says Charles Russo, account executive with ECBM Insurance Brokers and Consultants. “As a company, you have to identify and analyze the types of loses your organization is prone to and put time-tested and effective prevention measures in place to increase driver awareness, preparedness and safety. A company can’t efficiently accomplish this without commitment, focus and open communication.”
Smart Business spoke with Russo about how to use accident investigation to prevent future accidents.
What type of accidents should be investigated?
First, let’s define accident. An accident is any unplanned event that results in personal injury or property damage. When the personal injury requires little or no treatment, it is considered minor. If it results in a fatality or severe bodily injury, the accident is serious.
Property damage also may be minor or serious. This distinction is important because following an accident, people are often in shock. The extent of injury is sometimes difficult to determine right after an accident, and minor incidents have the potential to become larger losses once the dust settles. Therefore, it is important to gather as many details as possible. All accidents should have some level of investigation at the scene, regardless of the extent of injury or damage initially reported.
How can accident investigation help reduce losses?
By using the information gathered through an investigation, a company’s safety department is in a better position to review the circumstances that led to the situation and prevent similar or more disastrous accidents from occurring. This is why investigations are so important to continually identify causes and work on preventing the next big accident.
When should an investigation be completed?
The level of the investigation depends on the severity of the accident, but some level of information gathering is required regardless. Most times, a minor fender-bender causing nominal property damage and no injuries does not require a full-blown accident investigation. An officer will be called and information will be exchanged between the involved parties. Property damages will be fixed by the party responsible, or their insurance carrier, and that will be the end of it. An accident with severe property damages and serious injuries or fatalities requires a more intensive investigation. In those situations, an accident reconstruction specialist should be called to the scene to determine what happened.
