162 Accident Investigation: Basic

Phase 1: Injury Analysis

It's important to understand all injuries to workers are caused by one thing: the harmful transfer of energy. Let us take a look at some examples that illustrate this important principle.

• If a harsh acid splashes on your face, you may suffer a chemical burn because your skin has been exposed to a chemical form of energy that destroys tissue. In this instance, the direct cause of the injury is a harmful chemical reaction. The related surface causes might be the acidic nature of the chemical (condition) and working without proper face protection (unsafe behavior).
• If your workload is too strenuous, force requirements on your body may cause a muscle strain. Here, the direct cause of injury is a harmful level of kinetic energy (energy resulting from motion), causing injury to muscle tissue. A related surface cause of the accident might be fatigue (hazardous condition) or improper lifting techniques (unsafe behavior).

In the next section, we'll take a closer look at each of the types of energy that might cause injury.

The important point to remember here is that the "direct cause" of the injury is not the same as the "surface cause" of the accident event.

• The direct cause of injury is the harmful transfer of energy as a consequence of your exposure to that energy. The direct result of the harmful energy transfer is injury. The cause is the harmful transfer of energy. The effect is the injury.
• The surface cause of the accident is the condition and behavior that interacts in a way that results in the harmful transfer of energy. The interaction of the condition and behavior is the cause. The effect is the harmful transfer of energy.

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