Is this injury OSHA recordable?

1. Work-relatedness. OSHA presumes a case is work-related when an event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to it, unless one of nine exceptions applies (29 CFR 1904.5).
2. New case. A recurrence counts as a new case only if the employee had fully recovered and a new work event or exposure brought the symptoms back (29 CFR 1904.6).
3. General recording criteria. Death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant diagnosed injury or illness (29 CFR 1904.7).
4. Special case. Needlesticks and cuts from sharps contaminated with another person’s blood or other potentially infectious material are always recorded (29 CFR 1904.8).

Recording means entering the case on your OSHA 300 log. Reporting means telling OSHA directly, and it has its own deadlines under 29 CFR 1904.39:

• A work-related fatality: within 8 hours (if it occurs within 30 days of the incident).
• An in-patient hospitalization, an amputation or the loss of an eye: within 24 hours.

If you learn about the event later, the clock starts when it is reported to you or your agent. Report by phone at 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742), through your nearest Area Office, or online.

If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not have to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and certain low-hazard industries are partially exempt. Every employer covered by the OSH Act must still report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye (29 CFR 1904.1).