What qualifies as an OSHA recordable incident?

Every manager on your team should know what qualifies as an OSHA recordable incident. Whoever is the first to respond will know right away how to gather the information necessary for a report. Here’s a refresh on recordable incidents and a list of examples. 

Definition of OSHA recordable incident

According to OSHA, a recordable incident is any work-related injury or illness that involves: 

• A fatality 
• Loss of consciousness 
• Days away, restricted, or transferred 
• Medical treatment beyond first aid 
• Diagnosis of chronic irreversible diseases or cancer 
• Fracture or crack of bones (including teeth) 
• Punctured eardrums 
• Tuberculosis 
• Medical removal 
• Hearing loss 
• Needlesticks and sharp injuries 

[This list comes directly from the OSHA recordkeeping page.] 

If you have an incident that meets one of these criteria, then you have to document it on your OSHA logs.

Examples of OSHA recordable incidents

Here are some examples of what qualifies as an OSHA recordable incident: 

• Broken leg, arm, collarbone, etc. 
• Hearing loss from prolonged exposure to loud work environment 
• Concussion from a falling object 
• Cancer caused by carcinogen exposure 
• Chemical burn from a hazardous substance 
• Back injury from lifting a heavy object 
• Laceration requiring stitches 

It’s important to note that some of these incidents are only recordable if they have a certain outcome. For example, two workers might strain their backs while lifting a heavy object. Worker 1 might require ibuprofen and an ice pack and be fine the next day. Meanwhile, worker 2 might have long-term back pain and need to take time off to recover. In this situation, the incident worker 2 would be a recordable injury and the other incident would not. 

How to report an incident to OSHA

Aside from the standard OSHA recordkeeping requirements, there are two specific types of incidents you must report immediately. You must report any workplace fatalities within 8 hours of the incident, and you must report any hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. 

The main information you’ll need to make your report includes: 

• Name of your business 
• Incident location, time, and date 
• Type of incident (e.g., fatality, amputation) 
• Number of employees affected 
• Brief incident description 
• Contact information for someone OSHA can reach for more details 

You can call OSHA’s 24-hour hotline or your local OSHA office to report these types of incidents. They also have a serious event reporting online form that you can fill out instead. 

For all recordable incidents, you also need to add the details to your OSHA recordkeeping forms. Keep detailed internal records so you can always find the information if an inspector asks for it or if there’s an external investigation. 

The best practice for documenting safety incidents is to use incident management software. That way, all your records are accessible and centrally located for senior leadership. If you don’t have the budget or a big enough team for software, however, a well-maintained spreadsheet is the next best option. 

Understanding what qualifies as an OSHA recordable incident and knowing how to properly report incidents is something that all your managers should know. This includes operations, HR, quality, and any other leaders who work within the facility. That way, if an incident happens, the responding manager will know exactly what to document and report.