The procedure for forming accident investigation commissions

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Labor legislation imposes the obligation on the employer to record and investigate accidents.

An incident that occurs while an employee is performing his professional functions and results in his disability or death is investigated by a specially created collective body. The accident investigation commission examines the causes of the accident and identifies those responsible. Let's consider the legal mechanism for the creation and activities of this commission.

Organization of the investigation process, composition of the commission

Labor legislation imposes the obligation on the employer to record and investigate accidents that occur at work. The procedure for forming accident investigation commissions is regulated and explained by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The employer must organize a commission immediately after the incident; any unreasonable delay is considered a violation. The commission consists of at least three people, among them there must be specialists:

• those responsible for labor protection;
• representing a trade union of workers;
• representing the employer's position.

The commission is headed by the employer. The maximum permissible number of commission members is not established by law, but it is stipulated that their number should be odd.

An employee has the right to participate personally or through a representative in the investigation of an accident from which he suffered. In the event of the death of an employee as a result of an accident, blood members of his family and dependents who were supported by him have the right to demand the participation of their representative in the commission. Also, relatives and dependents of the employee can get acquainted with the documentation containing the investigation materials.

Governing legislation

The responsibility and procedure for creating an investigation team are described in Art. 229 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The government establishes the responsible executive body. He, in turn, approves the Regulations on the procedure for investigating accidents at enterprises in certain industries. The chairman establishes forms of documents to establish the causes and circumstances of accidents.

The commission must be created from competent employees. The authenticity of the causes of the tragedy can only be established through a careful and detailed study of the details. The results of the investigation will determine the amount of compensation to injured personnel for injury to health at work.

Participation in the commission of representatives of other government bodies

If employees receive serious injuries, injuries, or death of employees, the following are involved in the investigation:

• representative of a trade union organization;
• labor inspector;
• government officials or representatives of local self-government;
• insurer when the employee was insured by the employer.

In the case under consideration, the commission is headed by an official of the state body that monitors the implementation of labor legislation.

If an accident occurs on a fishing vessel, the commission is formed from representatives of the command and members of the trade union, and is headed by the captain of the vessel.

If an accident occurred on the territory under the control of a government body authorized to exercise supervision and control in the field of industrial safety, the members of the commission are determined by the head of the said body, and the chairman of this body leads the commission.

Time frame for investigating a mild and severe case

How long it takes to investigate what happened depends on the classification of cases.

The duration of the investigation is determined based on the following parameters:

1. If the injury is classified as minor, then the investigation will take no more than three days. Moreover, calendar days are taken into account, not working days.
2. An accident classified as serious is given 15 days to investigate.

The commission must work within the time limits established in the administrative document and submit acts to the addresses.

Formation of a commission in case of accidents in certain industries

A special document adopted in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation regulates the activities of commissions in certain cases. The resolution establishes the procedure for considering accidents that occur:

• with employees of other organizations who performed labor duties at the direction of the referring employer;
• with students;
• with employees sent to carry out professional activities to another employer to work under his leadership;
• with part-time workers;
• with athletes, during training and competitions;
• with coaches and other employees of sports organizations;
• with other categories of workers.

Investigation procedure

During the inspection, the commission interviews the victim and eyewitnesses of the incident. The respondents are asked to find out all the circumstances of what happened, the order and sequence of events that led to the incident. Members of the commission must inspect the place where the accident occurred.

If necessary, the scene of the incident is photographed, laboratory studies and tests are carried out, and technical calculations are performed. To carry out these activities, the commission may invite specialist experts at the employer’s expense. And the employer, at the request of the commission, is obliged to provide communications equipment, special clothing and personal protective equipment for members of the commission.

The commission compares the data obtained during the investigation with the requirements of laws, rules, and labor protection standards.

At the end of the investigation of an accident in which several people were injured, or an accident that resulted in the death of one of the victims, the commission must prepare:

• plans, sketches, diagrams, photos and videos;
• documents that describe the workplace;
• extracts from the register of occupational safety briefings and the protocol for testing the knowledge of victims;
• protocols of interviews with eyewitnesses of the event, victims and leaders;
• expert opinions of specialists, results of laboratory studies, experiments;
• medical report on the nature and extent of the victims’ injuries;
• copies of documents confirming that the employee received protective clothing and other personal protective equipment;
• extracts from the orders of the state labor protection inspector and other inspectors;
• extracts from trade unions' submissions on eliminating detected violations of labor protection requirements.

These requirements are contained in Article 229.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

However, the commission, at its discretion, can prepare other documents relating to the accident. If the incident does not entail serious consequences, the list of sufficient documents is determined by the chairman of the commission.

note

For an employer who is a private entrepreneur, there is no clearly established list of documents that he must collect during the investigation of an industrial accident.

Based on the collected documents, the commission determines the circumstances and causes of the accident, determines what the victim was doing at that moment and whether the incident is related to production activities.

As a result of the investigation, depending on the specific circumstances, the following may be classified as accidents not related to production (Article 229.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

• death due to a general illness or suicide, confirmed in the prescribed manner by a medical organization, investigative bodies or court;
• death or injury to health, the only cause of which, according to the conclusion of a medical organization, was alcohol, narcotic or other toxic intoxication (poisoning) of the victim, not associated with violations of the technological process in which industrial alcohols, aromatic, narcotic and other toxic substances are used;
• an accident that occurred when the victim committed actions (inactions) qualified by law enforcement agencies as a criminal offense.

If the accident was caused by the careless actions of an employee who was insured against the accident, the commission determines his fault as a percentage.

If during the inspection violations of the procedure for investigation, registration, registration and recording of industrial accidents are revealed, the elimination of which is not possible without an additional investigation, then, based on the results of the inspection, the authorized employee of Rostrud or its territorial body who conducted the inspection must conduct an independent additional investigation accident. Such additional investigation of an industrial accident is carried out by a state labor inspector (Article 229.3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Types of accidents

Accidents subject to investigation include incidents that happened to an employee during work, on the way to work and back, while performing activities related to work functions at the direction of the employer, if these incidents resulted in death or disability.

The law defines accidents as events as a result of which an employee received:

• burns;
• thermal shock and electric shock or any type of radiation;
• animal and insect bites;
• drowning;
• frostbite;
• damage as a result of explosions, natural disasters, accidents;
• other damage received as a result of external influences and causing the employee’s disability or death.

Documentation of results

Based on the results of the investigation, an administrative document is issued, which reflects the following information:

1. The date the investigation was completed.
2. Which specific point and from which instructions was violated, and documents, standards and regulations can also be taken as a basis.
3. To be the cause of the incident: personal inattention, negligent attitude on the part of management, failure to use PPE.
4. The degree of guilt of the victim is determined, but the established percentage is no more than 25%. The remaining percentage is given to the culprit. Typically, the person at fault is the manager.
5. How long does it take to develop measures to prevent future incidents?

An act is drawn up in form N-1. This document must indicate:

• Who the incident occurred with, including the employee’s last name and initials, as well as the position he holds.
• When the adverse event occurred: date, time.
• The place where the incident happened. For example, the number of the site or building.
• Explanations from the victim: what happened, why it happened, what was the task for the day.
• What instructions were given and whether they were timely.
• What was violated and who was responsible for what happened.
• The percentage of guilt of the victim is established by the commission members.
• It is determined who exactly was guilty.

The act is drawn up in three copies, one is given to the victim, the second remains at the enterprise, and the third is sent to the Social Insurance Fund. But if this incident happened to one person. If there were several victims, then the number of copies must be issued equal to the number of victims.

Commission for occupational diseases

In the event of a confirmed medical diagnosis of an occupational disease, the employer assembles a commission to investigate the disease. The commission includes:

• employer representative;
• specialist responsible for labor protection;
• representative of a medical organization or workers' union.

The commission is headed by the chief physician of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Service. The participation of other specialists in the investigation is not prohibited, if appropriate. The employer has the responsibility to create appropriate conditions for the normal conduct of the investigation.

As a result of the investigation, the commission makes a conclusion about the reasons that led to the disease, identifies the persons who committed violations that led to the disease, and develops measures for the prevention of occupational diseases.

Author of the article

When is it necessary to extend the deadline?

In practice, there are circumstances when it is necessary to extend the investigation period. There are many different nuances that can arise here:

1. The specialist cannot immediately give an opinion on the condition of the victim, so additional tests are required.
2. The investigation of the case is delayed because there is insufficient information about the availability of documents.
3. It is not possible to continue the investigation due to the danger at the site. If the causes of the danger are eliminated, the event can continue.

If it is necessary to extend the work period of the commission, then it is necessary to issue another administrative document and agree with the interested parties so that problems do not arise in the future.