2.2.2 (M) Liability and Risk Management Program

2.2.2

(M) Liability and Risk Management Program

A written directive describes establishes the academy's liability and risk management program which includes to include procedures for:

Commentary

The directive should include staff, students, and visitors to the facility and cover both injuries and property damage. The intent of this standard is to ensure that each incident or accident is properly documented, investigated, appropriately responded to, and an annual comprehensive review is conducted. The initial report should state who was involved, what occurred, who was notified and when, and what has occurred since. Areas of concern include possible omission or failure of policies and procedures, employee or supervisor negligence, and deficient equipment or unsafe training. Additionally, the physical conditions inside and outside the facility should be reviewed to identify potential issues that could cause physical injury The intent of this standard is to ensure incidents involving work-related liability, risk or loss are properly documented and reviewed to identify remediation measures reducing the risk of future injuries or liability.

Liability insurance should be carefully reviewed by professionals to ensure all likely risks are adequately covered and the academy understands any limitations of the policies both in coverage and amount (4.2.3)  A written report should be completed by involved employees as soon as possible following a work-related incident resulting in property damage, injury or death.  Examples include, but are not limited to, motor vehicle crashes, accidents on agency property or while operating equipment, or incidents alleged to involve a failure of agency policy, equipment failure or inappropriate employee action.

The report should document all relevant data regarding the incident including, at a minimum, date and time of occurrence, location, type of incident or accident, identification of people involved, identification of known witnesses, description of injuries, medical aid or treatment provided, and work time lost.  Photographs, recordings, related documents or subsequent investigation reports should also be collected and retained.

Procedures should be established to provide timely notification to the CEO and any other personnel of incidents involving serious injury or death, including the person or entity responsible for managing the agency’s liability protection program and/or legal counsel.  All work-related incident reports and related documentation should be retained until expiration of the applicable statute of limitations as they may be necessary for future litigation.

An administrative review of work-related may reveal patterns or trends that indicate training needs, modifications, and/or the addition or deletion of applicable equipment.  An annual analysis should provide the agency CEO with identified patterns or trends that could indicate training needs, equipment upgrades, and/or policy modifications.

Work-related safety and risk reduction training programs should be provided to employees as soon as possible upon hiring.  Training topics may include general workplace safety training (evacuation procedures, ergonomics, proper lifting techniques, etc.) and specific topical training depending on employee classification (hazardous materials awareness, VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Program, “Below 100”, etc.). Time Sensitive Standard. (M)