We had an accident a couple of weeks ago at my place of work which is a warehouse. It occured in the garage area and the assistant manager told me to file a report, I did my job and got out the nesessary documents..then he told me to fill it out. I didnt want to honestly because six months ago we had a man loose full use of his fingers and had a lawsuit. So my question is do I have to fill them out when I had no idea what happened(I work in the office), I shoulnt hav e to sign them either right?, What can I do when I am asked to do so? and legally if this guys sues will I be held reliable for the accident report?
2007-02-24 11:45:35 · 4 answers · asked by charityislove 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Oh no doubt if the one other person in the office with me ever gets hurt I will do it then, but I dont value their intentions(the company).
2007-02-24 11:53:57 · update #1
I guess it did come out that I was more worried about being held liable, but that was my question. Just because people dont write mile half paragraphs not mean they wont do the right thing.
2007-02-24 11:57:49 · update #2
Tell the assistant manager that you had no involvement in the incident. Be honest and say that you know nothing about it and see what he says or wants out of the ordeal. If he insists and you think is unethical, take the matter to there boss and HR. Make sure you document whats going on with an email or a letter.
Another reason why they might be asking you to fill out a report would be if your were in the vicinity shortly before the accident or you work in the same area. This is completely ethical. The reason why they might be asking you in this case is to prove that the accident area was either safe or had any potential safety concerns.
Put it this way, snowy weather. If a lady falls on the side walk of a Target Store and cracks a hip, a cart attendant might be asked to fill out an accident report due to the fact that there outside more constantly than any other employee. They might be asked how the walkway conditions were and if it was slippery when they were outside. The cart attendant could have been in the break room at the time of the accident with no knoledge of what happened.
2007-02-24 12:05:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, you shouldn't be forced to fill out an accident report if you didn't see what happened. That doesn't even sound legal to me. I do question your values a bit, though. Is it more important to prevent a lawsuit or prevent people from losing the use of their fingers? If you ever really do witness an accident at work, please have respect for others' safety and do the appropriate thing.
2007-02-24 11:50:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your company needs to hire some safety representitives if that many people are becoming injured. Accident reports are neccessary so that the situations that leading up to the event can possibly be avoided in the future. You should just be brief and honest on the reports about your situation and location. They may just want someone to acknowledge the event, does not mean you are liable or at fault. I have filled out my share.
2007-02-24 12:02:12 · answer #3 · answered by Big B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't know what happened, write that on the report. Unless you noticed unsafe conditions before the accident, there is nothing else you can say.
2007-02-24 12:55:02 · answer #4 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋