Accidents and Incidents
Definitions

Definitions

Incident

"Incidents" are those events that result in or have the potential to cause harm. Incidents which don't cause damage or injury are often referred to as near misses. Incidents which do cause damage or injury are often referred to as accidents.

Accident

An accident is a type of incident. An accident is an unplanned event arising out of work activities which results in:

injury or ill healthdamage to property or equipment
damage to property or equipment.

Near Miss
A near miss is a type of incident which doesn't result in damage or injury but which could easily have done so.

Work Related Ill-Health
Ill health is any illness, disability or other physical problem which is caused by a person's work and which reduces the function of an individual over a period of time.

RIDDOR
The Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. The piece of UK legislation which tells you which incidents accidents have to be reported to the authorities.

Reportable Incident
Incidents which have to be reported to the authorities under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. Those incidents are often referred to as "RIDDORs" or RIDDOR Reportables. These are:

fatality;
a member of the public taken to hospital as a result of BBC work activities;
the inability of a person to carry out normal duties for more than three days due to a work-related accident;
fractures, dislocations or amputations;
loss of sight or eye damage;
hospitalisation for more than twenty-four hours as a result of an injury;
unconsciousness;
injury requiring resuscitation;
explosive injuries needing first aid, explosion misfires and projections beyond danger zones;
serious outbreaks of fire;
diving accidents;
hypothermia;
those which result in symptoms indicating exposure to biological, chemical or pathological agents;
overturning, collapsing or serious failures of lifting machinery;
collapse of a scaffold 5 metres high or near water;
contact with overhead power lines;
pressure system failures which have the potential to cause injury
reportable occupational diseases.

Action plan
A record of any of the things which need to be done following an incident who is responsible for doing them when they need to be done and when they were done.

Immediate cause
The most obvious reasons why an incident happens.

Underlying cause
The less obvious system or organisational reasons for an incident.

Accidents and Incidents Definitions

Accidents and Incidents
Definitions