Recordkeeping and Injury Reporting
Recordkeeping
29 CFR 1904 requires covered employers to record work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses that meet recording criteria. Forms include the OSHA 300 Log, 300A Annual Summary, and 301 Incident Report. Recordable cases include death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, and significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician.
Reporting to OSHA
Employers must report a work-related fatality within 8 hours. They must report an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Reporting is not the same as recording; a case can be recordable without being reportable. Electronic submission requirements apply to certain establishments.
Worked example
A worker cuts a hand and receives stitches. Stitches are medical treatment beyond first aid, so the case is recordable on the 300 Log within seven calendar days. It is not a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye, so no 8-hour or 24-hour report is required. If the worker is admitted to the hospital for treatment, the 24-hour reporting rule applies.
Traps
First aid is not recordable. The fatality report is 8 hours; hospitalization, amputation, and loss of eye are 24 hours. Hospitalization for observation only is generally not reportable. Recording does not automatically mean the employer is at fault.