What is an Incident Report?

An incident report is a form filled out by designated personnel after an injury is reported, describing details of the incident. A form should be created for this purpose and made available to coaches, management, security, volunteers and others who are tasked with this.  Incident reports should contain the following information:

1. Name of person injured
2. Name of parent or guardian if person injured is a minor
3. Address, email addresses, and telephone numbers
4. Date of birth and age of person injured
5. Social security number of person injured (or, at least, the last four digits)
6. Name of employer
7. Health insurance coverage information (name of insurer and policy number)
8. Date and time of incident or injury
9. Location of incident
10. Description of how incident occurred in narrative detail
11. Description of status of person injured (e.g., athlete, spectator, volunteer, employee)
12. Information regarding club or team membership, if applicable
13. Information regarding the event during which the injury took place and whether that event was sanctioned by the applicable national governing body
14. Police report number, if applicable
15. Description of the nature of the injury
16. Identification of body parts injured
17. Description of medical or health care received in response to injury
18. Whether transported by ambulance to a medical facility
19. Whether seen in an emergency room of a hospital, and identification of that medical facility
20. First date of health care
21. Identification of health care providers seen
22. Whether the injured person had ever had a previous, similar injury or condition
23. If the person has had a previous, similar injury or condition, the date and health care providers seen for that injury or condition
24. Identification of any witnesses to the incident
25. Addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of witnesses
26. Signature of injured person (or parent or guardian, if a minor)

Incident report forms should be available digitally to all who are tasked with filling them out. Hard copies should also be available as it is sometimes easier in an outdoor sports setting to fill out a hard copy. Once completed and signed, the completed form should be kept secured in a filing cabinet or database so they can be located in the event that a lawsuit arises. If there is an insurance claim, the insurance carrier may request that you provide a copy of the incident form. However, the injured person may also be required to fill out a claim application in order to receive payment of insurance benefits. It may be years before litigation or claims arising out of an injury resolve, so it is best to keep incident forms for a period beyond the expiration of your state’s statute of limitations. Remember that statutes of limitations of minors do not begin until after they reach majority.