Incident Analysis and Review - What to Do Following an Injury

Last month, we explored injury reporting, what it is, and how and why to report it. Injury reporting is reporting sports-related incidents that harm an athlete during a practice or game. Completing an injury report is important to ensure proper communication and implementation of emergency action plans after an incident. The reporting component consists of recording, reporting, and retaining information related to the incident. 

While proper documentation and record-keeping are crucial to managing risks in youth sports, we need to ensure we’re taking appropriate next steps to support the athlete following an injury. Let’s dive deeper into what to do after an incident occurs. At this point, it’s important to conduct an analysis and review to identify the root cause of the issue and take corrective action. By doing so, we can help prevent future injuries from occurring. 

Follow these best practices for conducting an incident analysis and review:

1. Collect and analyze collected data: Collect and record all relevant information about the incident, including the nature of the injury and any circumstances surrounding the incident.
2. Identify the root cause: Determine the underlying cause of the incident. Was it equipment failure? Lack of training? Other factors?
3. Take corrective action: Develop a plan to address the incident's root cause and implement corrective actions to prevent similar incidents from happening down the road.
4. Monitor and evaluate: Regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action plan and adjust as necessary to ensure ongoing incident prevention.

By conducting a thorough incident analysis and review, youth sports organizations can understand the bigger picture of the incident to ensure that they are being proactive to prevent future incidents and protect the safety of youth athletes.

Click here to learn more about InjureFree and how injury reporting can support your organization.

References

1. https://www.injurefree.com/
2. https://safeathlete.org/youth-sports-risk-management-tips/#:~:text=access%20or%20disclosure.-,INCIDENT%20ANALYSIS%20AND%20REVIEW,-Proper%20documentation%20and 
3. https://www.littleleague.org/university/articles/how-to-handle-an-injured-player-returning-to-play-after-injury/