Q154 - Restroom Injury

Question:

An employee is hiding in the restroom from a micromanaging supervisor. While standing on a toilet to hide her feet, she slips and hits her head on the tile floor and is later diagnosed with a concussion. The doctor keeps her in the hospital overnight for observation and recommends that she takes time away from work. Is it recordable?

Answer:

YES. The incident occurred in the work environment and is considered work-related. The recommendation from the doctor of time away from work means this should be recorded as days away on the OSHA 300 log. It also resulted in an overnight stay at the hospital so this incident must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours.

1904.7(a) You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

OSHA Reporting Requirements: Be prepared to supply: Business name; names of employees affected; location and time of the incident, brief description of the incident; contact person and phone number.