Injury & Illness Recording (Update 2007)

1. Injury & Illness Recording(Update 2007) Marianne McGee

2. Work-Relatedness • Cases are work-related if: • An event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition • An event or exposure in the work environment significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness 1904.5

3. Work-Related Exceptions • Cases not work related: • Employee present as a member of the general public • Non-work event or exposure (e.g. asthma or diabetes) • Eating and drinking of food and beverages • Voluntary Wellness Programs or Blood Donations • Personal tasks outside of working hours. 1904.5(b)(2)

4. Work-Related Exceptions • Cases not work related: • Self grooming or self medication • Common colds and flu • Motor Vehicle Accidents: • In company parking lot/access road • On commute to or from work • Mental Illnesses 1904.5(b)(2)

5. General Recording Criteria • Requires records to include any work-related injury or illness resulting in one of the following: • Death • Days away from work • Restricted work or transfer to another job • Medical treatment beyond first aid • Loss of consciousness • Diagnosis of a significant injury/illness by a physician or other licensed health care professional 1904.7(a)

6. General Recording Criteria (continued) • Medical treatment vs first aid • “Light duty” or restricted work cases Medical Treatment First Aid 1904.7(b)(5)

7. First Aid • Using nonprescription medication at nonprescription strength • Tetanus immunizations • Cleaning, flushing, or soaking surface wounds 1904.7(b)(5)

8. First Aid • Wound coverings, butterfly bandages, Steri-Strips • Hot or cold therapy • Non-rigid means of support • Temporary immobilization device used to transport accident victims 1904.7(b)(5)

9. First Aid • Drilling of fingernail or toenail, draining fluid from blister • Eye patches • Removing foreign bodies from eye using irrigation or cotton swab 1904.7(b)(5)

10. First Aid • Removing splinters or foreign material by simple means • Finger guards • Massages (non-therapeutic) • Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress 1904.7(b)(5)

11. Hearing Loss • Requires employers to record standard threshold shifts (STS) in employees’ hearing if: • The hearing loss results in a total hearing loss of 10 db and is 25db above audiometric zero. • Separate column on the OSHA form 300 to capture hearing loss cases 1904.10

12. Fatalities • All work-related fatalities must be reported to the local OSHA office (or 800-321-OSHA) within 8 hours. • Heart attacks included • Vehicle accidents don’t need to be REPORTED to OSHA (but may be recordable)

13. Annual Summary • Annual summary posted for three months • Certification of the summary by a company executive 1904.32

14. Retention & Updating • Keep current year plus previous 5 years data. • OSHA 300 Log • OSHA 301 Supplemental Form • Privacy Case List (If Applicable) • During storage period, you must update stored records.

15. Where to get more information:www.osha.gov

16. Recordkeeping Webpage Save the PDF file to your hard drive

17. Use the “find” function to search the document

18. Be flexible in your word choice

19. Prescription Medication

20. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee suffered a recordable injury but the employee had a positive drug test and was fired?

21. Yes – Question 7-9 • When the employer conducts a drug test based on the occurrence of an accident resulting in an injury at work and subsequently terminates the injured employee, the termination is related to the injury. Therefore, the employer must estimate the number of days that the employee would have been away from work due to the injury and enter that number on the 300 Log.

22. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is working in the field and is assaulted by illegal immigrants?

23. Yes – Question 5-2 • The Recordkeeping rule contains no general exception for purposes of determining work-relationship, for cases involving acts of violence in the work environment. • Also, use the “but for test”. But for the fact the employee was working, he would not have been in that location for the incident to occur.

24. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is turning a wrench and it slips off and hits and breaks (or cracks) a tooth?

25. Yes – Question 7-17 • Work-related fractures of bones or teeth are recognized as constituting significant diagnoses and, if the condition is work-related, are appropriately recorded at the time of initial diagnosis even if the case does not involve any of the other general recording criteria.

26. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee damaged a prosthetic such as a leg or tooth?

27. No–Letter of Interpretation 4/30/2007 • Damage to artificial or mechanical devices, such as dentures, eye glasses, canes, or prosthetic arms or legs, would not be considered an injury or illness under Part 1904. Must be related to a person.

28. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is injured and receives medical treatment, • A second opinion is obtained and states medical treatment was not necessary?

29. Maybe - Question 7-10a • Once medical treatment is provided for a work-related injury or illness, or days away from work or work restriction have occurred, the case is recordable. • If there are conflicting contemporaneous recommendations regarding medical treatment, or the need for days away from work or restricted work activity, but the medical treatment is not actually provided and no days away from work or days of work restriction have occurred, the employer may determine which recommendation is the most authoritative and record on that basis. • In the case of prescription medications, OSHA considers that medical treatment is provided once a prescription is issued.

30. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employees suffers a cut and medical glue is used in lieu of stitches?

31. Yes - Question 7-5 • Surgical glue is a wound closing device. All wound closing devices except for butterfly and steri strips are by definition "medical treatment," • Wound closure devices are not on the all inclusive first aid list.

32. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employees suffers a cut and Band-aid glue is used in lieu of a Band-aid?

33. No - Letter of interp. 8/8/2002 • Band-aid glue is a wound covering device not a wound closure device.

34. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee dies during surgery made necessary by a work-related injury?

35. Yes - Question 7-3 • If an employee dies as a result of surgery or other complications following a work-related injury or illness, the case is recordable.

36. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is involved a fatal vehicle accident in a foreign country?

37. No – Letter of Interp. 8/26/2004. • Recordable only if the incident is in the jurisdiction of OSHA (US, DC, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Outer Continental Shelf Lands)

38. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is injured at work and the physician gives a prescription medication but the employee does not take the medicine?

39. Yes – Question 7-10a • OSHA considers that medical treatment is provided once a prescription is issued • Also see letter of interpretation 02/06/2007

40. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is injured at work and the physician tells the employee to take an over-the-counter medicine • The employee has a reaction and as a result has to take a prescription?

41. Yes • “But for” the fact the employee had a work-related injury they would not have taken the OTC.

42. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee was stung by a bee, and due to an allergic reaction the employee carries and administers an epi-pen?

43. Yes • “But for” the employee being in the work environment he would not have been stung.

44. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee is on-call and is injured while responding.

45. Yes • Except for one commute.

46. Would an injury be recordable if: • At a drill site an employee sleeps in a trailer but would be expected to respond to an alarm. • The alarm goes off and the employee strains his back getting out of bed and receives medical treatment.

47. Yes • The employees job is to respond to the alarm and the moment the alarm sounds the employee is “working”.

48. Would an injury be recordable if: • An employee working on an offshore drilling rig is off duty and sustains an injury in the crew quarters.

49. Yes – LOI 2/6/2007 • The crew quarters is under the control of the employer thus not considered a “home-away-from home”.

50. Would an injury be recordable if: • Volunteer fire brigade member goes for an annual physical. • Phlebotomist is rough while drawing blood. • The following day the ees arm has red streaks. • The Doctor prescribes an RX.