Serious injuries in the workplace are one of those accidents that an owner or manager never wants to hear about, especially when the event happens in your own plant or workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all employers to report these types of events to the administration.
OSHA Standard 1904.39 provides the requirements for recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses.
The Standard reads as follows:
1904.39(a)(1)
Within eight (8) hours after the death of any employee as a result of a work-related incident, you must report the fatality to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor.
1904.39(a)(2)
Within twenty-four (24) hours after the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees or an employee’s amputation or an employee’s loss of an eye, as a result of a work-related incident, you must report the in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA.
1904.39(a)(3)
You must report the fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using one of the following methods:
1904.39(a)(3)(i)
By telephone or in person to the OSHA Area Office that is nearest to the site of the incident.
1904.39(a)(3)(ii)
By telephone to the OSHA toll-free central telephone number, 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742).
1904.39(a)(3)(iii)
By electronic submission using the reporting application located on OSHA’s public Web site at www.osha.gov.
1904.39(b)
Implementation –
1904.39(b)(1)
If the Area Office is closed, may I report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye by leaving a message on OSHA’s answering machine, faxing the Area Office, or sending an email? No, if the Area Office is closed, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using either the 800 number or the reporting application located on OSHA’s public Web site at www.osha.gov.
It’s important that you’re prepared before you make the report. The better prepared you are, the better off you will be. You will need specific information about the incident and the involved personnel.
You must give OSHA the following information for each fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye:
• The establishment name
• The location of the work-related incident
• The time of the work-related incident
• The type of reportable event (i.e., fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye)
• The number of employees who suffered a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye
• The names of the employees who suffered a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye
• Your contact person and his or her phone number
• A brief description of the work-related incident
These accidents must be reported anytime the accident is work-related or when the employee is on the clock. This would include transportation accidents when the employee is on the clock, such as traveling to another plant after being on the clock, but not on their way to work from home, unless it’s traveling for work-related business. This can be tricky when the employee is a salary employee or when they work from home.
So, what do I mean by ‘on the clock, or work-related?’ This can be confusing, and it’s important that employers understand when an accident must be reported. In the past, I have dealt with incidents that were in a real gray area, such as injuries in the parking lot while walking into the building. In general, if the employee is in the work environment, it’s considered on the clock and therefore recordable and requires reporting. OSHA Standard 1904.5 provides detailed information about what is not work-related.
1904.5(b)(2) You are not required to record injuries and illnesses if . . .
(i) At the time of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work environment as a member of the general public rather than as an employee.
(ii) The injury or illness involves signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a non-work-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work environment.
(iii) The injury or illness results solely from voluntary participation in a wellness program or in a medical, fitness, or recreational activity such as blood donation, physical examination, flu shot, exercise class, racquetball, or baseball.
(iv) The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal consumption (whether bought on the employer’s premises or brought in). For example, if the employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while in the employer’s establishment, the case would not be considered work-related.
Note: If the employee is made ill by ingesting food contaminated by workplace contaminants (such as lead) or gets food poisoning from food supplied by the employer, the case would be considered work-related.
(v) The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee’s assigned working hours.
(vi) The injury or illness is solely the result of personal grooming, self-medication for a non-work-related condition, or is intentionally self-inflicted.
(vii) The injury or illness is caused by a motor vehicle accident and occurs on a company parking lot or company access road while the employee is commuting to or from work.
(viii) The illness is the common cold or flu (Note: contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, hepatitis A, or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected at work).
(ix) The illness is a mental illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.
Earlier in the article, I mentioned that it’s important that you’re prepared before you make the report. Being prepared includes not just the reporting phone call but also your workplace safety program. I understand that you may not have been able to complete a thorough injury and illness investigation, but I guarantee you that if it’s serious or if you’ve had trends of accidents or citations, you will receive a visit from OSHA Compliance Officers. This is when having a proactive workplace safety program, the required safety training, and written safety programs in place are critically important.
I have reported accidents for employers in the past, and when the OSHA Compliance Officer knows that you’re adhering to OSHA Standards and have been proactive, it may save you a considerable amount of anguish. When the employer and management have not complied with OSHA standards, previous warnings and citations, there will be serious consequences.
Let’s review a couple examples of what being prepared looks like and what not being prepared will look like:
Scenario 1 – Not being prepared and proactive.
The workplace has been involved in multiple serious injuries in the past that resulted in citations, warnings and fines by OSHA. The workplace was required to adhere to OSHA standards by providing training for their employees or by not having an effective Control of Hazardous Energy Program that provided specific information about the energy isolation of equipment. Because the employer failed to meet these requirements, an employee did not isolate the equipment’s energy sources an employee was electrocuted resulting in severe burns and an overnight hospitalization. In this scenario, the employer would certainly be facing serious consequences, such as violations and costly citations, not to mention liability lawsuits.
Scenario 2 – Being prepared and proactive.
The workplace has had a few recordable incidents; however, none that would have been considered serious. The workplace’s management is committed to safety; written safety programs and safety training are in place and OSHA standards are meticulously followed. An accident takes place involving a new employee who has received training on the Control of Hazardous Energy but failed to isolate the correct energy source as identified in the specific procedures for the equipment. The employee is electrocuted, receives severe burns, and is hospitalized overnight. In this scenario, OSHA Compliance Officers found that the required programs were in place, the employee had received training, but didn’t follow the procedures identified in the equipment-specific Control of Hazardous Energy requirements. The compliance officer finds no previous trends, warnings or violations, and the accident results in recommendations by OSHA Compliance but no costly citations.
It is extremely important that any accident that is on the clock or work-related and is required by OSHA to be reported within a given amount of time is actually reported as required. Failure to report these accidents will show willful non-compliance or negligence on the part of the employer. In any event, OSHA Compliance will likely cite the employer. This is why safety is so important, not to mention the welfare of employees.
Following the standards required by OSHA is a crucial component of being an employer. Even when you’re certain that a serious accident was not work-related, but happened on the premises, it’s a good idea to contact OSHA and review it with them. An example of this would be a medical emergency that was not caused by an event related to a task in the workplace, such as a heart attack. In this case, I would recommend contacting OSHA and reviewing the incident with them. They will likely note the incident and request a follow-up once the physicians have determined the cause. You won’t face any citations, but you will know that you’re in full compliance.
Editor’s Note: Jary Winstead is a safety consultant, author and trainer who serves a variety of industries including the forest products’ sector. He owns Work Safety Services LLC and can be reached at SAFEJARY@gmail.com.
