Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) introduced a new online tool to enhance workplace safety awareness. This tool allows users to search its extensive severe injury report database and analyze trends related to workplace injuries in states under federal OSHA jurisdiction.
The Severe Injury Report dashboard makes it easy to search and download data by year, industry, state, establishment name, and Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) codes. It includes detailed information on all severe injuries reported by employers since 2015.
Designed for employers and employees, this dashboard is valuable for understanding how severe injuries occur within specific industries. By leveraging OSHA’s tools and data, users can take proactive steps to prevent future workplace injuries.
This is what the new dashboard looks like:
Log onto the website and use the search criteria to learn more about your area.
TRUE or FALSE? Federal law requires employers to notify OSHA of a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours of the incident?
TRUE: Standard Number 1904.39(a)(3) states you must report inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours using one of the following methods:
- By telephone or in-person to the OSHA Area Office nearest the incident’s site.
- By telephone to the OSHA toll-free number, 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742).
- By electronic submission using the reporting application on OSHA’s Web site at www.osha.gov.
What information will OSHA ask for?
- The establishment name
- The location of the work-related incident
- The time of the incident
- The type of reportable event (i.e., hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye)
- The number of employees involved
- The names of the employees involved
- A company contact person’s information
- A brief description of the incident
What happens if there is a fatality?
Employers are required to report any worker fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours of the incident. The reporting methods remain the same as previously outlined, with the only difference being the shortened timeframe. OSHA will investigate all work-related fatalities at covered workplaces and has up to six months to complete the investigation and decide if citations will be issued.
REMEMBER: Ensure that all recordable injuries, severe injuries, and fatalities are entered into your OSHA Injury/Illness 300 logs by the end of the year. This proactive step will ensure you are fully prepared to meet the submission deadline.