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Q158 - Retires After Injury
Question:
An employee slips on ice at work and strikes their elbow on the pavement. At the time of the injury, a licensed health care professional provides first-aid treatment and the employee returns to work. Three weeks later, the employee retires from their job for reasons unrelated to the injury. One month after retiring, they report pain in their elbow and end up getting surgery. Is it recordable?
Answer:
YES. The case should be recorded as an "Other recordable case" (no lost work time) because it occurred while the worker was still employed and the employee was retired by the time the surgery occurred.
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Letter of Interpretation: The case should be recorded because it occurred while the worker was still employed. The case met the recording criteria in July when the injury required medical treatment. Work-related injuries and illnesses that meet the recording criteria are recordable throughout the five year record retention and updating period set forth in Section 1904.33. (See OSHA's FAQ 7-20 – http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/detailedfaq.html#1904.7.
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Since the recording criteria in Section 1904.7 were met when the employee received "medical treatment," the case should be recorded on the OSHA Log in column J – "Other recordable cases." No lost work time resulted from this injury because the employee was already retired.