I would welcome feedback on the below:

Example:

An employee approaches a First Aider and asks for an accident to be recorded in the accident book.

There are no witnesses to the event, nor can the aleged injuries be substantiated (e.g. soft tissue damage)

Does the First Aider facilitate an accident book entry being made (on face value that the details given by the IP are valid) OR would it be more sensible to make an informal note of the alleged accident and only make a formal record of such in the accident book once the accident/injuries can be substantiated.

It seems that once an accident book entry has been made, personal injury solicitors view such as an admittance of company liability.

I totally agree that a decision to record or otherwise should not be one made by the first aider, more so a senior manager.

I am also an advocate of all accidents being recorded and proportionately investigated to identify root cause and help prevent recurrence.

That said, if insurance companies and solicitors are to use accident book records as a blanket acceptance that an accident actually happened in the workplace, then it leads one down the route of caution. Especially as the success or failure of a subsequent claim can be affected by the existence of an accident book record and the wording used therein.

Mike, here's one Union's take on this.

https://www.usdaw.org.uk/USDAW/media/Documents/Health%20and%20Safety/Health%20and%20Safety%20A-Z/Accident-Book-x.pdf

Note that the format is such as to enable the employer to record their views on whatever the injured person has said happened.

You wrote:

"It seems that once an accident book entry has been made, personal injury solicitors view such as an admittance of company liability."

That might be the tack of the No Win, No Fee solicitor but the employer's legal team might often disagree.

It's very unlikely that a Court would decide on the balance of probabilities that the narrative of an accident was as alleged only on the basis of what is entered in an accident book. If the entry is made soon after the incident, then the record would be a strong indication of what the alleged victim or their representative recalled but not in itself the full level of proof.

AND even if the narrative is proven, that doesn't constitute proof of liability by the employer or anyone else.

That the defendant's insurance company might be keen to settle any action is an entirely different issue!

Originally Posted by: Kate

As far as I remember, employees have a legal right to record accidents in the accident book.  Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Whether the accident happened is a separate question, and certainly not one that a first aider should be asked to assess.

Absolutely correct the B510 accident report book is for the employee to record an injury and not the employer. It should be completed by the injured person unless they are so physically incapacitated by the injury that they cannot make the entry themselves.  There are copius explanatory notes at the front of the book that explains what the book if for and how it should be used.  Always worth reading these things.

Edited by user 25 September 2020 11:54:09(UTC)  | Reason: Missed out a word in the text

just remember that the B510 is about benefits not H&S...