10.2 Reporting Fatalities, Hospitalizations, & Amputations

10.2 Reporting Fatalities, Hospitalizations, & Amputations

The Scope of 29 CFR 1904.39

While routine recordkeeping (such as maintaining the OSHA 300 Log) applies only to employers with more than 10 employees in non-exempt industries, the severe event reporting requirements of 29 CFR 1904.39 apply to all employers under OSHA jurisdiction. This means even a small business with a single employee, or a business in a low-hazard industry that is exempt from keeping an OSHA 300 Log, must report workplace fatalities and severe injuries directly to OSHA.

The purpose of this requirement is to allow OSHA to quickly respond to catastrophic workplace incidents. The agency uses these immediate reports to deploy Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) to conduct accident investigations, identify immediate hazards, and prevent other workers from being injured in the same manner.

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Critical Timeframes and Trigger Events

Employers must be highly familiar with the specific timelines and definitions for reporting severe injuries. The clock starts ticking as soon as the employer, or any agent or supervisor of the employer, learns of the incident.

1. Work-Related Fatalities (8-Hour Window)

If an employee dies from a work-related incident, the employer must report the death to OSHA within 8 hours of learning about it.

• The 30-Day Rule: The fatality must be reported under this section only if the death occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident. If an employee is injured in a workplace accident, falls into a coma, and passes away 35 days after the accident, the employer is not required to report the fatality to OSHA within 8 hours. However, the death must still be recorded as a fatality on the employer’s OSHA 300 Log (if the employer is required to keep records).

2. Inpatient Hospitalizations (24-Hour Window)

If an employee is admitted to a hospital as an inpatient due to a work-related incident, the employer must report it within 24 hours.

• Inpatient Admission Defined: "Inpatient hospitalization" is defined as formal admission to the inpatient service of a hospital or clinic for care or treatment. Admission to an Emergency Room (ER) for examination, observation, or outpatient treatment does not trigger the 24-hour reporting requirement, even if the worker remains in the ER for an extended period.
• The 24-Hour Rule: The inpatient hospitalization must be reported only if it occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident. If an employee is injured on Monday morning, goes home, and is formally admitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening (more than 24 hours after the incident), the employer does not need to report it to OSHA. It is recorded on the OSHA 300 Log, but the 24-hour notification is not required.

3. Amputations (24-Hour Window)

An employer must report a work-related amputation to OSHA within 24 hours of learning about it.

• Amputation Defined: OSHA defines an amputation as the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part. This includes fingers, toes, hands, arms, feet, legs, or any part thereof. It also includes the loss of a body part where bone is severed, such as a fingertip amputation where the bone is cut or crushed. If an employee's finger is partially severed and later surgically amputated by a doctor, it is reportable as an amputation.
• The 24-Hour Rule: The amputation must be reported only if it occurs within 24 hours of the work-related incident. If an employee’s finger is crushed in a machine, and the doctor attempts to save it but must perform a surgical amputation 3 days later, the amputation occurs more than 24 hours after the incident. Thus, the employer is not required to report it to OSHA within 24 hours, though it must be recorded on the log.

4. Loss of an Eye (24-Hour Window)

The loss of an eye resulting from a work-related incident must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours.

• The 24-Hour Rule: Similar to hospitalizations and amputations, the physical loss of the eye (or the surgical removal of the eye) must occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident to be reportable under this rule.

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Reporting Procedures and Information Required

Employers have three options for reporting a fatality or severe injury to OSHA:

1. By Telephone: Call the OSHA Area Office nearest to the site of the incident during normal business hours.
2. By Hot-line: Call the national, toll-free OSHA central telephone number at 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742), which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
3. Online: Submit the report electronically through the Severe Injury Reporting application on OSHA's public website.

Information to Provide

When making a report, the employer must provide the following information:

• The establishment name.
• The location of the work-related incident.
• The date and time of the incident.
• The type of reportable event (fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye).
• The number of employees affected.
• The names of the affected employees.
• A contact person and their phone number.
• A brief description of the incident.

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Important Exceptions and Special Scenarios

OSHA provides specific exclusions where a fatality or severe injury does not have to be reported:

• Public Transportation Accidents: If a work-related fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye occurs on a commercial airplane, train, subway, or bus, or on a public street or highway, the employer is not required to report it to OSHA. (Note: These incidents must still be recorded on the OSHA 300 Log if the employer is subject to recordkeeping).
• Heart Attacks: If an employee suffers a work-related heart attack that results in death or inpatient hospitalization, the employer must report it to OSHA. The OSHA Area Director will review the circumstances of the heart attack to determine whether an inspection or investigation is warranted.