Incident Report

What You Need to Know

Essential elements of a proper incident report:

• Date, time, and location of the incident
• Names and contact information for everyone involved (injured parties, witnesses, employees)
• Factual description of what happened, without opinions or speculation
• Condition of the area where the incident occurred (wet floor, lighting, obstacles)
• Statements made by involved parties at the time of the incident
• Photos or video footage if available
• Actions taken in response (first aid provided, 911 called, cleanup performed)
• Name and signature of the person completing the report

Reports should be completed immediately after any event that could potentially result in an insurance claim, including customer injuries, employee injuries, property damage, food contamination concerns, illness complaints, confrontations, and any other unusual occurrences.

Why It Matters for Restaurant Owners

Creating detailed incident reports immediately after any accident or injury is one of the most important risk management practices you can implement, and failure to properly document incidents can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in increased settlements or lost defenses.

When a customer slips and falls, the incident report you create in the immediate aftermath – while memories are fresh and evidence is available – becomes a critical piece of evidence if the customer files a lawsuit months or years later. Without a contemporaneous report, it becomes a "he said, she said" situation where you have little credibility.

Incident reports also help your insurance company investigate claims more effectively and protect you from fraudulent claims by documenting exactly what happened before a claimant's story evolves. From a workers' compensation perspective, reports are often required within strict timeframes, and failure to report workplace injuries promptly can result in fines and penalties. Train all managers and shift supervisors on how to complete thorough reports, and require that any incident be documented immediately regardless of how minor it seems.