Accident Reporting 
If you have an accident at work you must report it as soon as possible. A work-related injury should be recorded in an appropriate accident book, such as the HSE 'Accident Book BI 510'.
What to record in an accident record book
Some of the items that will need to be recorded include:
1. Name and address of the person involved in the accident.
2. Their occupation.
3. The name and address of the person filling in the record (if it wasn't the person involved).
4. The person's occupation (if it wasn't the injured person).
5. Details about the accident: Time and date; Location; How it happened; The type and extent of injury.
6. Signature and date when record completed.
Either the injured employee, or someone else, must complete an accident record as soon as possible. This must be filed in a suitable place: Each accident record has to be kept for at least three years.
An accident record book is confidential and will typically have pages which can be readily removed for filing in personnel records.
Additional requirements are also covered by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.
The employer must investigate (and identify) the cause of the accident, which might be carried out by a safety representative or other nominated person.
Types of non-fatal injuries to employees reported for the (coronavirus) year 2020/21 (provisional RIDDOR injury data in 'Kind of accident statistics in Great Britain, 2021', HSE, and 'Non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain', HSE,
•Slips, trips or falls on same level: 33%.
• Injured while handling, lifting or carrying: 18%.
• Falls from a height: 8%.
There were 51,211 employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers for RIDDOR, which gave the above breakdown, but also by contrast there was 441,000 self-reports of non-fatal injuries by workers from the Labour Force Survey for that year.
For fatal injuries from 2016-2021 the data (selected only) was:
• Falls from a height: 25%.
• Trapped by something collapsing/overturning: 10%
• Slips, trips or falls on same level: 2%.
Importance of reporting an accident:
All accidents and injuries must be recorded because the records can be used to identify if there are any common causes or patterns to the events and so this can help reduce them occurring again.
Even if the person involved in the accident hasn't been immediately affected (where it is classed as an incident), it is still important to report it as this will protect their future right to any benefit because the accident (or incident) might affect them later on.
An accident might be found to be caused by different factors:
• Inappropriate systems of work.
• Deficient human factors such as behaviour, understanding or physical ability.
• Poor condition of equipment or machinery.
• Inadequate design or layout of a site, store or workshop.
Implement improvements
Once the cause has been identified then remedial action can be taken to either eliminate or reduce the cause to prevent further accidents and injuries occurring again.
It is important to investigate serious accidents quickly and positive action by employers will show to employees, and others, that they are:
• Complying with the law.
• Concerned about their employees.
• Identifying how to improve work practice.
• Contributing to an accident free and safe environment.
• Promoting a positive, motivating, image to employees and others.
A good record of minimal, or nil, accidents will help to keep insurance costs down, particularly liability insurance for ill health and injuries to employees.