| Sunnyvale Little League Accident Reporting
Procedures |
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An "Incident Report" form should be
completed and provided to the League Safety Officer for all occurrences that
meet the criteria described below. Lesser incidents should be logged in the
First Aid Kit and summarized monthly to the Safety Officer. |
The form is included with the Sunnyvale
LL Safety Manual and can be downloaded here: Sunnyvale LL Incident Report Form.
The Incident Report
form must be completed and can be
submitted to the League Safety Officer for all
occurrences that meet the criteria described below. You are encouraged to
report all other incidents informally by
emailing a summary of the incidents to the Safety
Officer.
In our effort to prevent accidents and
injuries to all involved in Little League, we must deal with the unpredictable
actions of many small athletes. One of the most widely accepted ways to reduce
the occurrences of unsafe acts is to document the reasons behind such acts and
take suitable action to prevent them from happening again. Since we cannot
eliminate all mishaps, we must use them as tools to help reduce the number of
similar or related accidents. Also, safety consciousness allows us to determine
the root causes of near misses', so that action can be taken to prevent
occurrences of injury-producing accidents in the future.
Which Accidents to Analyze
Good judgment must be used
when deciding which accidents to analyze. The severity of an injury should not
be the only basis for deciding to report/investigate an accident. The
prevention of a similar, more severe accident should be our main reason for
exploring causes and taking suitable corrective action.
Examples of Accidents Requiring Thorough Study
- A collision that occurs when two players go after
the same fly ball, even though no one is hurt, has the possibility of resulting
in a serious injury. Questioning the players involved may reveal that they had
forgotten priority assignments in the "heat of the battle". A corrective
measure might include re-emphasizing ball priority drills in the next practice.
A completed incident report passed on to the Safety Officer will serve to
highlight this area as one needing additional emphasis from managers and
coaches.
- If a player should trip and fall over a bat left
on the ground and suffer a small abrasion, the cause and correction may be
obvious. A report, however, would serve as a reminder, not only to this team,
but to others in the league that equipment left on the field can cause falls,
some of which can result in fractures.
- Face, mouth or teeth injuries caused by improper
use of a catcher's mask, or the failure to wear a catcher's mask, should
obviously be reported and the causes investigated.
- A turned ankle caused by a hole in the outfield
should be reported so that the league Facilities Director can contact Parks and
Recreation so that they are aware of the condition and can make appropriate
repairs or corrections.
Other Uses for Accident
Reports
The need for corrective measures, of course, is most
evident when an injury is severe enough to require professional medical
attention or services. In addition to the need for immediate preventive action,
it is very important to have accurate information to complete an insurance
claim report.
As in any organized endeavor, communications among teams
within our league, and between leagues within our district, is important. This
safety program can be an effective tool in accident prevention if each adult
with safety responsibility is given a briefing on serious accidents, unusual
hazards, and corrective action taken to remedy them. In order to accomplish
this, the League and District Safety Officers must be kept informed of all
accident cases. Your assistance in achieving this is greatly appreciated.
Even after corrective action has been taken, responsible adults
should continue to monitor to ensure that unsafe habits are not resumed. Make
sure that you are worthy of example. We continually advise players to keep
their eyes on the ball. Let's do the same when it comes to safety
precautions. |
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