There’s Been a Bad Accident—What Now?

Make sure employees can act fast. There are four basic steps employees have to take very quickly in the event of a workplace injury. They must:

• Call for help immediately. An employee on the scene should call 911 while a trained emergency first responder tends to the victim. The employee on the phone should explain the kind of injury and where the victim is located. There’s no time to waste in an emergency, and often no way to know how serious the emergency is, so it is important that employees remain calm and act quickly and purposefully.


• Bring help to the victim; don’t bring the victim to help. In other words, victims should not be moved unless they are in imminent danger where they are.


• Check to see if the victim is breathing and has a heartbeat. An emergency first responder may be called upon to perform rescue breathing or CPR to keep the victim alive until EMS arrives.


• Do no further harm. Employees who provide first aid should be careful not to cause additional injuries in their attempt to help a victim. If they are not absolutely sure what to do, they should do nothing except call for emergency medical assistance and keep the victim comfortable until help arrives. Making the wrong move can make things worse for the victim.

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Give emergency responders proper training. You may not be able to train all your employees in first aid. But you need a well-trained corps of workers on every shift throughout your facility who know exactly what to do when a co-worker gets hurt. Your emergency first responders should know how to deal with all these emergencies:

• Bleeding


• Amputations


• Shock


• Broken bones


• Back and neck injuries


• Eye injuries


• Electrical shock


• Burns (heat and chemical)


• Chemical exposure


• Not breathing/no pulse


• Choking


• Heart attack


• Stroke


• Severe allergic reactions


• Heat- and cold-related illness


• Epileptic seizure


• Fainting

What about workers who faint at the sight of blood? Tell other employees that they should never try to do more than they know they can handle in a medical emergency. There are many ways for those who are not trained in first aid or those who are uncomfortable dealing with injuries to help. For example, in an emergency people are needed to:  

• Make the 911 call and stay on line with the dispatcher.


• Notify a supervisor, safety manager, and others.


• Get first aid supplies. (Make sure you have full kits in every work area!)


• Go to meet EMS at the entrance to your facility and bring them to the scene of the accident.


• Keep workers who are not involved in emergency response clear of the area, and then once the victim or victims are removed, cordon off the accident area to preserve evidence for the accident investigation.

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Why It Matters…

• There are over 4 million workplace accidents every year resulting in injuries and illness.


• Quick response at the scene of an accident keeps a bad situation from getting worse and may even save a life.


• May 17-23 is National EMS Week, which gives you about a week to plan some safety meetings and other events on the vital topic of emergency medical response.

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