What are the key parts of an incident report?

The type of incident, when and where it happened, who was involved, a factual description, any injury or damage, the immediate action taken, and the follow-up, including whether it is RIDDOR reportable.

Who should write an incident report?

The person involved, a witness or the supervisor on duty, as soon as possible. A manager then reviews it and agrees the follow-up.

Should an incident report say who was at fault?

No. Keep the report factual. Causes and responsibility are for the investigation that follows.

How to Write an Incident Report (With Examples)

A good incident report lets someone who was not there understand exactly what happened, why, and what is being done about it. Here is how to write one, with examples.

What to include

Type of incident: injury, ill health, near miss, dangerous occurrence or property damage.
When and where: date, time and the exact location.
Who: the people involved and any witnesses.
What happened: a factual account, in order.
The result: any injury, the body part, or the damage.
Immediate action: first aid, making the area safe.
Follow-up: the RIDDOR decision, causes and actions.

Our free incident report form template has a space for each of these.

How to write it, step by step

Write it straight away. Details fade within hours.
Start with the facts. When, where and who, before what happened.
Describe events in order. What was happening before, during and after.
Be specific. “The second step of the rear staircase” is better than “the stairs”.
Stick to what you saw or were told. Say who told you anything you did not see yourself.
Leave out blame and opinion. The investigation decides causes, not the report.
Record what was done. First aid, who was informed, how the area was made safe.
Add evidence. Photos, witness names and any equipment involved.
Sign and date it.

Incident report examples

Example 1: injury

Type	Injury
When and where	3 March, 11:20. Goods-in, bay 2.
People involved	Sam Patel, warehouse operative. Witness: Lee Chan, supervisor.
What happened	Sam was lifting a 20 kg box from a pallet onto a trolley. The pallet wrap caught on the box, which twisted as it came free. Sam felt a pain in their lower back and put the box down.
Injury	Lower back strain
Immediate action	First aider assessed Sam. Sam went home and was advised to see their GP.
Follow-up	Not RIDDOR reportable at this stage; absence to be tracked for the over-7-day rule. Review of pallet unwrapping procedure.

Example 2: near miss

Type	Near miss
When and where	10 March, 15:05. Aisle 6, racking bay C.
People involved	Reported by Jo Evans, picker. Nobody was in the aisle.
What happened	A carton fell about 4 metres from the top shelf into the aisle while a forklift was reversing out of the next bay.
What could have happened	Serious head injury to anyone walking in the aisle.
Immediate action	Aisle closed. Top shelf checked and overhanging stock restacked.
Follow-up	Not a dangerous occurrence. Load-height limits added to racking labels; forklift drivers briefed.

Example 3: property damage

Type	Property damage
When and where	14 March, 08:40. Loading bay door 1.
People involved	Delivery driver (name and company recorded). No injuries.
What happened	A lorry reversing onto the bay hit the door frame, bending the frame and jamming the door.
Immediate action	Door taped off. Maintenance contractor called.
Follow-up	Reversing guidance to be added to the bay. Banksman to guide deliveries until then.

Mistakes to avoid

Vague descriptions: “Hurt at work” gives nobody anything to act on.
Opinions: “He was being careless” is not a fact.
Delays: a report written a week later is far less reliable.
Missing follow-up: without actions, the same incident will happen again.
Forgetting RIDDOR: check every incident with the RIDDOR checker.

Make incident reports easier

With Accident Book, staff report incidents by scanning a QR code. The form prompts for every detail, time-stamps the report, adds photos and alerts the manager straight away.