Using `Privilege? to Keep Incident Investigation Reports Confidential

Investigating accidents is a key part of a safety coordinator’s job. A primary purpose of the investigation is to determine not just what went wrong but why. Some accidents are freak occurrences; but others are the result of breakdowns in the health and safety program. Some of these breakdowns might also constitute violations of the OHS law that could get you prosecuted. For example, an amputation injury might be the direct result of failure to install a required machine guard. Once your investigation ends, you need to report to management, the JHSC and others within the company exactly what you found. After all, people need to know what the problems are so they can make corrections and ensure it doesn’t happen again.