Question: Who should report a fatality or in-patient hospitalization of a temporary worker?

Answer:

Similar to the requirements in section 1904.31 for recording injuries and illnesses, the employer that provides the day-to-day supervision of the worker must report to OSHA any work-related incident resulting in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye.

Question: Who determines whether an employee was formally admitted to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment?

Answer:

The hospital or clinic makes the determination.

Question: If an employee is admitted to the hospital for Carpal Tunnel surgery, is this reportable?

Answer:

To be reportable, the in-patient hospitalization must occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident that injured or made the employee ill. Scheduled surgeries that occur beyond this 24 hour period are not reportable to OSHA.

Question: If an injured worker is formally admitted to the Emergency Room of a hospital, is this a reportable event?

Answer:

No, the injured worker must be formally admitted to the in-patient service of the hospital to be a reportable event.

Question: How do you differentiate between an amputation without bone and avulsions?

Answer:

If and when there is a health care professional's diagnosis available, the employer should rely on that diagnosis. If the diagnosis is avulsion, the event does not need to be reported. If the diagnosis is amputation, the event must be reported. If there is no available diagnosis by a health care professional, the employer should rely on the definition and examples of amputation included in the regulatory text of section 1904.39. Examples of avulsion that do not need to be reported include deglovings, scalpings, fingernail and toenail avulsions, eyelid avulsions, tooth avulsions, and severed ears. Remember, employers are required to report amputations to OSHA when they learn that the reportable event occurred. The employer must report the event when he or she has information that the injury is a work-related amputation.

Question: Does loss of an eye include loss of sight?

Answer:

No. Loss of sight without the physical removal of the eye is not reportable under the requirements of section 1904.39. However, a case involving loss of sight that results in the in-patient hospitalization of the worker within 24 hours of the work-related incident is reportable.

Question: What is meant by the "loss of an eye"?

Answer:

Loss of an eye is the physical removal of the eye. This includes enucleation and evisceration.

Question: What is considered a "construction work zone" for purposes of section 1904.39(b)(3)?

Answer:

A "construction work zone" for purposes of §1904.39(b)(3) is an area of a street or highway where construction activities are taking place, and is typically marked by signs, channeling devices, barriers, pavement markings and/or work vehicles. The work zone extend from the first warning sign or rotating/strobe lights on a vehicle to the "END ROAD WORK" sign or the last temporary traffic control device.

Question: When a work-related heart attack occurs in the workplace and the employee dies one or more days later, how should the case be reported to OSHA?

Answer:

The employer must report a work-related fatality by telephone or in person to the OSHA Area Office nearest to the site of the incident or by calling OSHA's toll free number 1-800-321-6742. The employer may also use the Serious Event Reporting Online Form at https://www.osha.gov/pls/ser/serform.html. The employer must report the fatality within eight hours of the employee's death in cases where the death occurs within 30 days of the incident. The employer need not report a death occurring more than 30 days after a work-related incident.