For your own protection and the welfare of your clients, you should have a written plan in place to deal with accidents and emergencies. You are working with people in a physical manner, and inevitably things will go wrong. People will fall off treadmills and trip over equipment. Most of the time there are no resulting injuries, but you must be prepared for the worst. If you are well prepared, you will increase the chances that there will be a favorable outcome.

Your Emergency Action Plan

An emergency action plan (EAP) is just what it sounds like — a plan that you implement in the event of an emergency. If you are working in a club, they will likely have their own plan with which you should be familiar. If this is not the case, encourage management to create a plan.

If you are working independently or in your clients' homes, there will be several key components to your EAP. First, always carry a copy of your clients' health forms with you. If for some reason an individual loses consciousness, you should be able to provide the EMTs with their health history information. You will also be able to call the emergency contact person they listed to make them aware of the situation. Keep your cell phone with you at all times, or be sure you have access to a land line in case you need to call 911. You should be able to provide the dispatcher with the exact address of your location as well as which entrance to the building the EMTs should use. This could save valuable time if the person is in cardiac arrest. You should at a minimum be trained in CPR and First Aid, so handle the situation as you were trained, but stay within your scope of practice. If you have employees, put your EAP in writing and periodically review the procedures to keep them fresh in everyone's minds.

Creating an Accident Report Form

The purpose of an accident report form is to document any mishaps resulting in injuries to your client. It's important to have an accurate description of what transpired, especially in the event of a lawsuit. When an incident occurs, manage it according to your emergency action plan. As soon as the situation is under control, fill out the entire accident report form. Ideally, the injured party will be well enough to sign the form, indicating their agreement with what you have written. In some cases, however, a person may refuse to sign the document or may not be able to. If this occurs, obtain the signature of a witness, preferably a neutral party.

The accident report form should always contain the following information:

• Name of the injured party

• Date and time of the injury

• Location of the accident

• Sequence of events, in detail

• Steps taken following the incident (called 911, administered first aid)

• Signature of the person filling out the report

• Signature of injured party and witnesses

Document this information as soon as possible, so the incident is fresh in your mind.

Even if you think the incident was minor, fill out the report. You never know when that little bump on the head will actually be a concussion, or when a client's twisted ankle will really be an avulsion fracture. People who hurt themselves may be embarrassed to admit the severity of the injury, especially if they are surrounded by people. You may not find out until later that the incident was not minor at all.