How do I determine if an injury is work-related?

FAQ

An injury or illness is recordable if it is work-related, is a new case, and meets one or more of the general or specific recording criteria.

It is considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either causes or contributes to the injury or illness, or significantly aggravates a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for all injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless one of the following exceptions applies.

EXCEPTION	EXAMPLE
At the time of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work environment as a member of the general public rather than as an employee.	An employee who works at a lumber yard is shopping at his place of employment outside of working hours. He is present as a member of the general public, not as an employee.
The injury or illness involves signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a non-work-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work environment.	An employee suffers an epileptic seizure, falls, and breaks his arm. Epileptic seizures are a symptom of a disease of non-occupational origin. Because epileptic seizures are not work-related, injuries resulting solely from the seizures are not recordable.
The injury or illness results solely from voluntary participation in a wellness program or in a medical, fitness, or recreational activity such as blood donation, physical examination, flu shot, exercise class, racquetball, or baseball.	An office employee twists an ankle while playing basketball during a lunch break. The injury is not work-related.
The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal consumption (whether bought on the employer’s premises or brought in).	An employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while at the employer’s establishment. The injury is not work-related. Note: If the employee is made ill by ingesting food contaminated by workplace contaminants (such as lead), or gets food poisoning from food supplied by the employer, the case would be considered work-related.
The injury or illness is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee’s assigned working hours.	If an employee uses a company break area to work on his child’s science project, he is engaged in a personal task.
The injury or illness is solely the result of personal grooming, self medication for a non-work-related condition, or is intentionally self-inflicted.	An employee using drugs (illegal or prescription) or alcohol becomes impaired and suffers an injury. The injury is a result of self medication and is not work-related.
The injury or illness is caused by a motor vehicle accident and occurs on a company parking lot or company access road while the employee is commuting to or from work.	An employee is struck by a vehicle and suffers a broken leg. The injury is not work-related. Note: if an employee slips on ice and suffers a broken arm, and no vehicle is involved, the injury is work-related and recordable.
The illness is the common cold or flu.	Note:contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, heptitis A, or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected at work.
The illness is a mental illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.	Note: an example of a recordable mental illness would be as follows: A compressed gas cylinder explodes, surprising but not injuring employees in the area. One employee is shaken, and seeks professional psychiatric help. The psychiatrist recommends two days off to recover. This is recorded as a lost-time illness of two day.

['Injury and Illness Recordkeeping', 'Risk Assessment and Management']

['OSHA Recordkeeping', 'Work-Relatedness Determination', 'Risk Assessment and Management']

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