Reporting Fatalities and Severe Injuries to OSHA is the rule that requires employers to notify OSHA quickly when a work-related incident kills a worker or causes an in-patient hospitalization, an amputation or the loss of an eye. Prompt reports let OSHA decide whether to inspect while evidence is fresh, and help prevent the same hazard from hurting someone else.
The rule applies to every employer under federal OSHA jurisdiction, including small businesses and low-hazard industries that are exempt from keeping injury logs. The clock is short: 8 hours for a fatality and 24 hours for the other events.
What Is the Severe Injury Reporting Rule?
The requirement is found at 29 CFR 1904.39, Reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye as a result of work-related incidents to OSHA. It is part of Subpart E of the OSHA recordkeeping rule, Part 1904. The current text of the section was published in the Federal Register on September 18, 2014 (79 FR 56187).
Key definitions in 1904.39(b):
- In-patient hospitalization means a formal admission to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment. Treatment in an emergency room only, or admission solely for observation or diagnostic testing, is not reportable.
- Amputation means the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part. It includes partial amputations, fingertip amputations with or without bone loss, medical amputations caused by irreparable damage, and amputations of body parts that were later reattached. It does not include avulsions, enucleations, deglovings, scalpings, severed ears, or broken or chipped teeth.
Who Must Comply?
All employers covered by the OSH Act must report, including those that are partially exempt from recordkeeping under 1904.1 or 1904.2. OSHA's guidance says the employer that supervises a temporary worker day to day is responsible for reporting that worker's injury.
Two kinds of incidents do not have to be reported to OSHA, although they still must be recorded on the OSHA 300 Log if you keep one:
- Motor vehicle accidents on a public street or highway, unless the accident occurred in a construction work zone (1904.39(b)(3)).
- Incidents on commercial or public transportation, such as an airplane, train, subway or bus (1904.39(b)(4)).
State Plan states may set their own requirements, which must be at least as effective as federal OSHA's. Some are stricter. For example, California's rule (Title 8, Section 342) requires employers to report serious injuries, illnesses and deaths to Cal/OSHA immediately, and no later than 8 hours after they know or should have known, with a 24-hour allowance only under exigent circumstances. Check your state's rule if you operate in a State Plan state.
Key Requirements
Reporting deadlines
- Fatality: report within 8 hours after the death of any employee as a result of a work-related incident.
- In-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye: report within 24 hours after the event.
Delayed outcomes
Under 1904.39(b)(6), a fatality must be reported only if it occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident. A hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye must be reported only if it occurs within 24 hours of the incident. If the outcome falls outside those windows, you do not report it to OSHA, but you still record the case.
When the clock starts
If you do not learn about a reportable event right away, the 8- or 24-hour period runs from the time the event is reported to you or any of your agents (1904.39(b)(7)). The same applies if you do not immediately learn that a death or injury was the result of a work-related incident (1904.39(b)(8)). Make sure the people who first hear about serious incidents, such as supervisors, escalate them at once.
How to report
Under 1904.39(a), you can report in one of three ways:
- By telephone or in person to the nearest OSHA Area Office.
- By calling OSHA's toll-free number, 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742).
- Through OSHA's online serious event reporting form.
If the Area Office is closed, you may not report by leaving a voicemail, sending a fax or using email. Use the toll-free number or the online form.
Information to provide
Have the following ready when you report (1904.39(b)(2)):
- Establishment name
- Location and time of the incident
- Type of reportable event (fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye)
- Number of employees who suffered the event and their names
- Contact person and phone number
- A brief description of the incident
Heart attacks
A work-related fatality or hospitalization caused by a heart attack is reported like any other event. Under 1904.39(b)(5), the OSHA Area Office director then decides whether to investigate, depending on the circumstances of the heart attack.
What Happens After You Report
OSHA reviews each report and decides how to respond, which can include an on-site inspection or a request for information about the incident. Either way, be ready to show a thorough root cause analysis, the corrective actions you took and evidence that hazards were fixed.
Reporting to OSHA does not replace recordkeeping. If you keep OSHA records, the case also goes on the 300 Log and a 301 within seven calendar days, and the records must be kept for five years.
Common Violations and Penalties
- Missing the deadline. Waiting for a hospital discharge or a full investigation before calling OSHA. Report first, investigate after.
- Assuming small or exempt employers are off the hook. Recordkeeping exemptions do not exempt you from 1904.39.
- Misreading "hospitalization". Treating an ER visit as reportable, or failing to report when the employee is formally admitted for treatment.
- Not counting fingertip amputations. Partial and fingertip amputations are reportable, with or without bone loss.
- Delays at the supervisor level. The clock can start when the event is reported to your agent, not when the safety manager hears about it.
- Using email or voicemail after hours. These methods are not accepted.
Failure to report is generally cited as a violation of 1904.39, and penalties follow OSHA's civil penalty structure. Check the OSHA penalties page for the current maximum amounts.
How to Comply: Step by Step
- Write a reporting procedure. Spell out what is reportable, the 8- and 24-hour deadlines and who calls OSHA.
- Name primary and backup reporters. Make sure someone with authority is reachable around the clock, including weekends and night shifts.
- Train supervisors. Explain the deadlines and that they must escalate serious incidents immediately.
- Post contact details. Keep the OSHA hotline, your Area Office number and the online form link in your emergency action plan and at each site.
- Collect the required details. Use an incident form that captures the information OSHA asks for, so the report is quick and complete.
- Report, then document. Record the date and time of the report, the method used and any reference number.
- Investigate and correct. Find the root cause, assign corrective actions and keep evidence of completion.
- Record the case. If you keep OSHA records, enter it on the 300 Log and complete a 301 within seven calendar days.
How SMS360 Helps
SMS360's Incident Management module helps teams capture serious incidents from the field as they happen, with the details OSHA asks for in one record. Mobile access gets the first report to the right people quickly, and notifications help keep the 8- and 24-hour deadlines visible.
After the report, the same record supports investigation, corrective action assignment and tracking, and document storage, so you can show OSHA what happened and what you did about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What injuries must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours?
Employers must report any work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours of learning about it. The event must occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident to be reportable. Work-related fatalities have a shorter deadline of 8 hours.
Does an emergency room visit count as a hospitalization?
No. OSHA defines in-patient hospitalization as a formal admission to the in-patient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment. Emergency room treatment alone, or admission only for observation or diagnostic testing, does not have to be reported. The case may still be recordable on the OSHA 300 Log.
Do I have to report a car accident to OSHA?
A fatality or severe injury from a motor vehicle accident on a public street or highway does not have to be reported to OSHA unless it happened in a construction work zone. You still must record it if you keep OSHA injury records. Fleet operators may also have separate DOT recordkeeping duties, such as the DOT accident register.
Do small businesses have to report severe injuries to OSHA?
Yes. Employers with 10 or fewer employees and those in partially exempt industries do not have to keep OSHA injury logs, but they must still report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye. The deadlines and reporting methods are the same.
