Public liability scene investigation software
A slip in a supermarket aisle or a trip on a footpath turns into a liability claim months after the event, and the investigator’s report may end up in front of a court. What matters is the scene as it was: the surface, the lighting, the cleaning records, the warning signs, the measurements and who saw what. An investigator who records the scene systematically on the first visit rarely has to go back.
Built for adjusters running teams of roughly 3–50 inspectors.
Sample Scene investigation report
An illustrative excerpt. The site, readings and findings are fictional; the layout is yours to set.
Scene investigation report
Scene record — Aisle 6 (fictional)
- Matter
- PL-20331 (fictional)
- Alleged incident
- Slip on spilled liquid, 14 Feb 2026
- Scene attended
- 19 February 2026
| Factor | Observation | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Floor surface | Polished vinyl tile, no visible wear path | Relevance: Record |
| Cleaning log | Last aisle check 25 min before incident | Relevance: Obtain copy |
| Wet-floor signage | None in aisle on CCTV still | Relevance: Adverse |
| Lighting | Even, no failed fittings | Relevance: Neutral |
Fields captured on site
Your firm builds the form in-app, so these are a starting point rather than a fixed schema. Every field is captured on the device, with or without signal, and lands in the scene investigation report where your template puts it.
Scene
- Exact location and sketch
- Surface type and condition
- Lighting
- Signage and warnings
- Measurements (step heights, level changes)
Evidence
- CCTV available and retained
- Cleaning or inspection records
- Incident report from the insured
- Photos with scale
Witnesses
- Name and role
- Statement summary
- Audio of interview (with consent)
Standards the report works to
- AS 4663Slip resistance measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces
- The method if the surface is tested on site rather than described.
- AS 4586Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials
- The classification a flooring product’s specification will quote.
Load the standards you hold into your reference library and the drafted prose is written against them rather than against a general model.
How the scene investigation report gets built
Capture it once, offline
Your firm builds the liability scene investigation form in-app — 25 field types, nesting repeatable groups, compound AND/OR visibility rules, reusable modules and calculated fields. Field capture works with no signal: jobs, forms, photos, notes and audio all queue in an idempotent outbox that only clears once the server confirms receipt.
Link it to your buildings and rooms
Enter buildings and rooms once, as a register. Every one of your damage observations and scope lines then points at a stored row rather than a name somebody typed — and the links survive a disconnected device.
Render your own template
The scene investigation report renders into the Word template you already use — your letterhead, your section order, your clause library — with conditionals, loops over repeats, composable sub-templates and photo grids.
Reviewed before it leaves
You write the review framework: a checklist of what a scene investigation report must contain, plus the prose standards you would mark a junior against. Link it to a report template and it runs every time that template renders. Each finding comes back graded info, minor or major, quoting the sentence at fault, and a person accepts or dismisses every one.
Because the structured submission behind the report is held too, the review is a comparison rather than a proofread: The report says the escape of water was confined to the ground floor; the scope carries three first-floor rooms.
Checks a insurance framework usually carries
- Cause, extent and policy response agree with one another
- Every scope line traces back to a damage that was actually observed
- The reserve is supported by the scope rather than asserted
- Every section the insurer’s template requires is present and populated
Questions
- Can we record witness interviews on site?
- Yes. Audio can be recorded on the job, with consent captured on the form, and transcribed when the device reconnects.
- Will the report draw conclusions about liability?
- The report says what your template and your investigator say. Drafted paragraphs are written from the recorded observations, and you decide whether the template includes any opinion section at all.
- Can we keep the request list for missing evidence in the same report?
- Evidence items marked “obtain copy” can render into an outstanding-information schedule at the end of the report.
What this is not
Worth knowing before you book a demo, so neither of us wastes the half hour.
- Not field-service dispatch. No timesheets, no parts, no inventory. Scheduling exists to get an inspector to a site.
- No signature capture. If your deliverable has to carry a signed sign-off on the artefact itself, this is not the tool yet.
- Field capture is what works offline — jobs, forms, photos, notes and audio. Reports, chat, scheduling and the inbox need a connection.
- No client portal. Reports go out as a file or a password-protected link.
Other insurance work we cover
- Marine claim surveysMarine claim report
- Motor assessing inspectionsMotor assessment report
- Mould remediation verificationClearance verification report
- Pre-insurance risk surveysRisk survey report
- Storm damage make-safe assessmentsMake-safe scope report
- Thatch and heritage property surveysSpecial risk report
- Workers comp workplace visitsWorkplace visit report
- Burst pipe water damage scopesWater damage scope
Other disciplines
Rebuild your scene investigation report in SurveyThanks
Bring the Word template you already send clients. If you are coming off another field-forms tool, a filled report can be uploaded, read field by field, and re-rendered into your template.