A business is facing the “unthinkable” after the death of an employee in an accident. Fire, ambulance and police take control of the scene. WorkSafe inspectors are on their way. Co-workers and friends are shocked and upset. A family is devastated.
How can a broker best assist their client immediately after this tragic event?
One of the most helpful things a broker can do, according to Vero Liability’s health and safety consultant, Jane Birdsall, is to encourage the business to develop a Crisis Response Plan (CRP) before an accident occurs.
“With so much happening in those first few hours, it’s easy for a business to feel overwhelmed by events. Having a simple CRP in place helps a business comply with its legal obligations and respond to the accident in an organised way,” she said.
“For most small businesses, the CRP doesn’t need to be complex. It can just cover a few key actions and assign responsibility for each action to a staff member.”
Complying with legal requirements
The Health and Safety at Work Act and its regulations place legal duties on businesses that will often need to be complied with after a work accident. Brokers can encourage their clients to understand what the duties involve and include steps to meet them in the CRP.
At the outset, businesses are obliged to have an effective emergency plan in place including procedures for evacuation, assisting anyone who is injured and contacting emergency services. Then, once the initial emergency is dealt with, the business needs to decide whether it is required to notify WorkSafe about the accident and “preserve the site”.
“Notifications to WorkSafe have to be made as soon as possible,” Birdsall said. “In some situations, for example after the death of a worker, there’s no real question about having to notify. But for less serious accidents, the business will need to work through the legal requirements. WorkSafe has a useful notification tool that helps businesses with this and we suggest brokers encourage their clients to put the link to this tool in their CRP.
“Brokers can also suggest that the business includes steps to comply with the duty to preserve the site in the CRP. There’s information about this on the WorkSafe website as well.”
Contacting the insurance broker
Once the legal requirements are dealt with, Jane recommends that businesses include contacting their insurance broker in the CRP.
“It’s really important that brokers ask their clients to get in touch with them as soon as possible. The broker can then let the insurer know.
“At VL, we will work quickly to appoint an expert health and safety lawyer to represent the insured if it looks like WorkSafe will investigate. This means the insured will get appropriate advice right from the start.
“An investigation can be daunting. Having a lawyer to assist reduces the stress on the client. It also helps to protest the business’s interests and ensure nothing is done to jeopardise its position further down the track.”
Dealing with the media
Some accidents attract a lot of media attention and it is not uncommon for a business to face incessant media enquiries on top of everything else. A reactive and unplanned response can damage a business’ reputation and could even make its legal position worse. Brokers can encourage a business to draft a generic statement before an incident occurs and include it in their CRP. This can be quickly adapted and released to the media after an accident.
“A media statement doesn’t have to be long. Often it might just say that the business is deeply saddened by the event and that their thoughts are with the injured person’s family and friends. A business can also give an assurance that they are working closely with WorkSafe while the incident is being investigated,” Birdsall said.
Supporting the victim and workers
Looking after the victim and/or their family is a non-negotiable for most businesses, and it’s best to plan how this will be done before an incident occurs. A business may choose to assign someone to coordinate victim support in the CRP. This person can then make this their focus and ensure, for example, that someone accompanies the victim to the hospital and the victim’s family is contacted and supported.
Workers can also be deeply affected by the injury or death of a colleague and friend. Again, a business may like to consider appointing someone in the CRP with specific responsibility for supporting workers. This might include offering to accompany workers if interviews are sought by Police or WorkSafe and arranging for counselling and a blessing of the site if appropriate.
“Most businesses recognise that looking after victims and workers is the right thing to do. What they may not appreciate is that building and maintaining these relationships will likely have benefits in the long run - including if the accident results in a prosecution.
“If a victim expresses a positive view about a business after an accident, it may lead to the Court imposing a smaller fine or help to get an enforceable undertaking across the line. And employees who are “on board” are less likely to provide useful evidence for the prosecutor. This means that supporting victims and workers in those first hours is really important and we encourage brokers to make businesses aware of the need to plan for this.”
Overall, Birdsall says, brokers can play a key role in helping a business prepare for a work accident.
“No one likes to think about someone dying at their workplace, but the reality is that unfortunately, it sometimes happens. If brokers can encourage their clients to prepare through a CRP, a sad and stressful event will be a little easier to cope with.”
In summary
A CRP is a useful way to prepare for a work accident. The CRP can include:
• Arrangements for the initial emergency response
• Processes for notifying WorkSafe and preserving the site
• Contacting the insurance broker
• Dealing with the media
• Looking after the victim and/or their family
• Supporting workers
