OSHA Form 301: Injury and Illness Report
Due to the obligation of employers to record and report any work-related incidents that may result in severe injuries or even have greater effect on their employees, all the work providers have to fill out certain documents required by law. These are OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Forms 300, 300A and 301 issued by the United States Department of Labor. In this blog post we will take a closer look at OSHA Form 301.
Who uses OSHA Form 301?
OSHA Forms are supposed to be filled out by employers, that have at least 10 employees. As it has just been mentioned, the whole package aimed to keep record of the workplace injuries and illnesses includes Form 300, fully named Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (its aim is to help calculate work-related incidence rates), and Form 301, which is Injury and Illness Report created to provide more information about the case. The latter is to be completed only when a corresponding incident occurs, the other two forms are to summarize and calculate such individual cases.
What is the purpose of OSHA Form 301?
OSHA 301 Form’s full name speaks for itself; the form’s purpose is to report separate cases of injuries or deaths that happened in the workplace, or work-related illnesses. It is the primary form that an employer should fill out during the recording process.
However, it should be determined what kind of cases should and which doesn’t have to be recorded. The OSHA regulation defines the following work-related cases for recording:
- Any lethal outcome;
- Any injury or illness that caused loss of consciousness, days away from work, limited ability to perform work, or transfer to another job;
- Any injury or illness involving medical treatment besides the first aid;
- Any confirmed case of cancer, chronic diseases, broken or cracked bones or teeth, and punctured eardrums.
Besides of the mentioned above, work-related incidents resulting in sharp injuries and needlesticks, loss of hearing, tuberculosis and medical removal also fall into the category of recordable cases.
What Forms does OSHA Form 301 accompany?
Form 301 serves two purposes at the same time: it is a basis for completing OSHA Forms 300 and 300A and as a supporting evidence for what is then recorded on those two forms. All these three forms are equally integral parts of OSHA records that must be submitted by employers to analyze and take preventive measure in order to better the situation in terms of employees’ safety in the workplace.
When is OSHA Form 301 due?
An employer who has found out about a recordable work-related injury or illness must complete OSHA Form 301 within seven days after the incident. However, if a fatal case occurred it must be properly reported within the first eight hours; if the incident has lead to an amputation, loss of an eye or worker’s hospitalization, Form 301 must be filed within 24 hours.
Copies of all filed Forms 301 must be retained by employers for 5 years since the recordable cases happen.
What information should be provided on OSHA Form 301?
The Injury and Illness Incident Report is a one-page form. It must provide the details as for the following:
- The employee who is a victim in an incident;
- The physician or other health care professional who attends the employee;
- Information about the case (when, how and why it happened).
