Rank: Super forum user 
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Hi all,
Just wanted the opinion of my fellow safety professionals:
Operative works a Sunday shift, completes the full shift and returns home. The operative has access to his supervisor at all times via telephone. The operative phones at 6:45 Monday morning and claims to have strained his back. He returns to work Tuesday morning. I have only just been notified of this alleged incident.
My initial thought is, the operative claims to have injured himself lifting something during his shift, yet he has managed to complete a full shift and did not report until the following morning?
Would the forum users, report this as a work place incident? or, would you look at this from a more cynical point of view and take the view that this injury could have took place at home (or the op may have just wanted a day off)?
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Rank: Forum user 
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I would think more of the latter two until it has been fully investigated.
Ask him what happened, what was he doing which might have caused the injury, use CCTV, use witnesses and get a statement from him. You might want to revisit the statement after he has given it as lies do not usually stick and they can be spotted when having to tell the story again.
On the other hand, he could have hurt his back during work and might not have thought it was worth reporting if it felt small.
Until you investigate it then I would leave out of the accident book (of which I stand to be corrected on this)
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Rank: Super forum user
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It is quite possible that they did strain their back on the Sunday, but at the time it did not feel 'that bad' so they may have decided to either carry on as it felt OK, or 'work it off'. After a night's sleep, it is also quite possible that the full extent of the injury became apparent, hence the subsequent reporting.
Not all back injuries have immediate effects; sometimes it can take a day or two for the full extent of any damage/ pain/ after effects to materialise.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Either the fire alarm has gone off here or the alarm bells are in my head.
I think its the latter.
When a similar thing happened to me- I put it in the accident book when it was reported. Just my way of doing things. As stated- the key is the investigation.
Negative statements from the people in the vicinity if they saw nothing. Another investigation I was involved in, this worked wonders as people came out of the woodwork when the EL claim came in!
Also, treat the investigation as you would any other- don't give the IP any indication you suspect they may be swinging the proverbial...
Andy
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Rank: Super forum user
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Thanks for the reply all
I have just received a statement and am reluctant to fill in a an 'accident' investigation form as this would imply that an accident occurred. The statement refers to the incident occurring at the beginning of the shift and the op worked through. No doctors visit, no medical attention.
I have seen that one of the comments on here states that the injury could have occurred at the time and then became apparent the next morning, but my thought would be "what happened between work and the following morning?" It could be that this is a chronic injury rather than acute and directly attributed to a particular task at work. Also, the op should have reported during shift.
I will record the statement and monitor the operative. If a similar report comes through involving the operative I will send to Occ Health.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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We have discussed similar situations many times before. It is of course possible that the person did have an accident/injury at work and that they delayed reporting this for whatever reason; I does happen. On the other hand the person could be 'trying it on'. You might never know. However, I have never stopped someone from reporting this as an accident in these sort of circumstances, and I think that it might be their entitlement to do so. In these circumstances I highlight the difference between the date of the alleged accident/injury and he date that it was reported. Realistically some alleged accidents at work that 'happen' on the same day that they are reported aren't always witnessed either. Would you fail to record/report that on the basis of no witness?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Depends on the circumstances. If there was a cut finger then there would be visual evidence. With back injuries it is very difficult to differentiate between chronic and acute back injuries if they are not reported immediately or during shift.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Get the injured employee to enter the details in the accident book himself. You cannot refuse him this.
If there is a claim it will be the insurers that investigate as it is them that would pay out.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Many years ago when I had my first job after university - long before I got involved in H&S - I slipped at work and fell. My immediate reaction was I hope no one has seen me! Picked my self up and got on with the job for the rest of the day. Following morning my hip was so swollen I could not move and had to ring in sick. I don't blame anyone for being suspicious of an accident not reported on the day but it can happen.
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Rank: New forum user
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I would log it as a workplace accident even though it wasn't reported at the time. As has previously been said this needs to be fully investigated. If this incident does result in an EL claim then you need to have the documented evidence of the incident and supporting procedural arrangements/training surrounding the task the employee was carrying out at the time the 'alleged' incident occured. You can ask why the incident wasn't reported at the time as part of the investigation. Is there any accident history for the task or history relating to the employee that would suggest they we're not telling the truth? Did the person return to work on normal duties? An occupational health referral would be a good approach.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Firesafety101 wrote:
If there is a claim it will be the insurers that investigate as it is them that would pay out.
Not always tho :-)
Lots of large companies self insure to a certain value (some even fully) so often cases like this will directly come from the companies pocket! (an ex employer self insured to £20,000 hence majority of civil claims were not paid by the insurance company).
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Rank: Forum user
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I would tend to investigatate as normal but look at it from the point of searching for evidence that proves the incident occurred.
CCTV, Occ. Health Check, doctors visit, restricted movement when he returned, witness statements (generally if a back injury hurts enough to have a day off Monday then a return on Tuesday would mean some kind of soreness/stiffness...was this observed by work colleagues?), did he mention anything to colleagues at the time about 'tweaking his back'?.
If there isn't any evidence to show it actually happened then based on no report Sunday, painful enough to have Monday off, then a miraculous return Tuesday with no residual after effects then I'd be inclined to record all this, state your views as part of the investigation and lock away ready to defend the claim when it comes in.
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Rank: New forum user
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All the scenarios you came up with would be in my thoughts but I did injure my back and not feel the full extent of my injury for a couple of days but then could hardly move for 2 weeks. It can happen.
However, I would get the injured employee to fill out the accident book themselves so you cover your back on the reporting side of things.
Then investigate and see what you find out. If nothing can be proved either way then so be it. A good investigation may throw up some opportunities for improvement so it wont be a waste of time?
Good luck.
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Rank: Forum user
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Treat it as you would any other injury, investigate and record the facts as they are communicated to you, you are not there to pass judgement on the IP's reasons for late reporting.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The reality is that 'late' reporting can and does happen for perfectly legitimate reasons. I don't think you can prevent someone who wishes to record this as a work related incident and I have never sought to do so. Highlight the delay in reporting and investigate as normal.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I agree that deep muscle injuries take time to become evident.
Take this scenario: employee falls down stairs, scrapes skin off right hip, thigh and elbow, feels foolish, hopes nobody saw and gets on with work. Next 2 days is in pain but expects it to reduce soon. Next day cannot walk or use right arm and is in great pain for the next 2.5 weeks and is persuaded by spouse to visit the GP who confirms no breakages, just deep muscle bruising. Keep taking the tablets.
On what day would you expect this to be reported?
Just for background, this was me, at my home, during a working day!
PS From whom do I claim my world cruise as compensation?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Record it but make sure you highlight in massive letters that it was reported late and as such a thorough investigation could not occur due to timelapse.
If you don't have a policy that states all accidents must be reported before leaving site - implement one yesterday!
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Rank: Super forum user
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damelcfc wrote:Record it but make sure you highlight in massive letters that it was reported late and as such a thorough investigation could not occur due to timelapse.
If you don't have a policy that states all accidents must be reported before leaving site - implement one yesterday!
This I will definitely implement!
With regards to the other comments. I had a meeting with the employee. His injury was discussed and questions asked regarding the late reporting and also his sudden great mobility. I gave the employee the option and without contesting his original statement. I basically said "did you injure yourself at work or did you just want a day off work". He was honest and said that he didn't injure himself and he just felt a bit stiff in the morning.
I am now glad I didn't just go ahead and record as this was my suspicion but I did not want to give off this aura to the employee to make him feel uncomfortable.
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Rank: Forum user
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David Bannister wrote:I agree that deep muscle injuries take time to become evident.
Take this scenario: employee falls down stairs, scrapes skin off right hip, thigh and elbow, feels foolish, hopes nobody saw and gets on with work. Next 2 days is in pain but expects it to reduce soon. Next day cannot walk or use right arm and is in great pain for the next 2.5 weeks and is persuaded by spouse to visit the GP who confirms no breakages, just deep muscle bruising. Keep taking the tablets.
On what day would you expect this to be reported?
Just for background, this was me, at my home, during a working day!
PS From whom do I claim my world cruise as compensation?
I would expect this to be reported on the day it happened!!!!! If someone from my workplace fell down the stairs and suffers an injury then it should be recorded....don't get into grey areas it just confuses everyone.
Glad to hear it turned out okay...a healthy dose of cynicism is always needed in these cases..I've had too many guys try it on to get a few days off work, miss the Friday night shift, take the weekend off and back injuries are a prime target for this as they are so hard to prove.
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Rank: Forum user
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As much as I hate this type of incidents and more often than not they are trying it on, we must still report them in the accident book and investigate as much as we can to mitigate if necessary or maybe to find out that they are genuine and allow us to implement changes where required.
I would definitely put it down on the accident book.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I would still want a permanent record of the outcome, in case of future spurious claims. Would not count in any internal statistics, but a full record otherwise.
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Rank: Forum user
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Our guys only get SSP when they are off therefore our absenteeism tends to be low and we dont get spurious reports of injuries.
The other side of the coin however is we pay a monthly bonus for full on time attendance, which worries me as i know for a fact guys turn in when they really shouldnt.
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Rank: Forum user
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jarsmith83 wrote:Hi all,
Just wanted the opinion of my fellow safety professionals:
Operative works a Sunday shift, completes the full shift and returns home. The operative has access to his supervisor at all times via telephone. The operative phones at 6:45 Monday morning and claims to have strained his back. He returns to work Tuesday morning. I have only just been notified of this alleged incident.
My initial thought is, the operative claims to have injured himself lifting something during his shift, yet he has managed to complete a full shift and did not report until the following morning?
Would the forum users, report this as a work place incident? or, would you look at this from a more cynical point of view and take the view that this injury could have took place at home (or the op may have just wanted a day off)?
Just report it. Its not a personal slur that a member of the workforce has an accident and reports it later for various reasons. If he came back after a month ago and said he`d had an accident then I would be suspicious
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