Accident investigations: learning from failures or failure to learn?

Behavioural  sciences  are  increasingly  becoming  concerned with the learning that follows from accidents. Many scholars have questioned the underlying causes of ‘accidents’ and the conventional  methods  of  accident  investigations,  but their conclusions vary. In general, accidents are investigated for two reasons – to settle litigation and for professional objectives – that is, to prevent these issues occurring again. Litigation tends to be about apportioning blame and settling court cases. Unfortunately, the wording of the regulations often appears to promote finding fault rather than objective  investigation.