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Injured at Customer's Home
Question: A North Pole Inc. employee begins work delivering presents. He takes a break from delivering presents to eat some milk and cookies. During his break he trips over a toy car that fell from his toy sack, striking his head against a large piece of coal which required 8 stitches. North Pole Inc., a company registered in Delaware, has clearly-written procedures about proper toy sack handling that the employee failed to follow. Furthermore, due to COVID-19 eating food samples is strictly prohibited. Is it recordable?
Answer: YES. The employee was present in the customer's home as a condition of his employment. Therefore, the home is considered part of the work environment and the injury is work-related. Stitches are considered medical treatment beyond first aid.
1904.5(b)(1): What is the "work environment"? OSHA defines the work environment as "the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. The work environment includes not only physical locations, but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the course of his or her work."