Is It Recordable?29 CFR 1904.7: General recording criteria
Scenarios that apply 29 CFR 1904.7 (General recording criteria).
Spilled tea
Two employees collide into each other while walking at work. One employee gets hot tea spilled on their arm. The employee sees a doctor…
Not recordableOutburst
An employees discovers that the company is planning to lay him off at the end of the month. He storms into the breakroom and in an…
RecordablePopcorn
While serving popcorn on behalf of the company to visitors, one visitor comments there is too much salt on the popcorn. The employee…
RecordableSemi-Rigid Splint
An employee is injured and is provided a splint with semi-rigid stays by a doctor as treatment. Is it recordable?
RecordableSoft Tissue Massage
An office employee reports a pain in their neck after spending many hours at a new desk next to their supervisor. The occupational…
Not recordableBird Bomb
While hauling a bag of trash out to the dumpster an employee was struck in the eye by a Magpie and suffered a corneal abrasion. A doctor…
RecordableDancing
An employee was dancing in her office after being informed of a promotion. As a result of an overzealous twirl, she tripped and…
RecordableMilk Crate Challenge
On their lunch breaks, warehouse employees set up a milk crate challenge. The challenge involves stacking milk crates to create a…
RecordableSwallowed Bee
A bee flew into the mouth of a maintenance employee who was mowing the grass. The bee became lodged in the employee's throat and stung…
Not recordableLava Lamp
Employees in a shop were heating a lava lamp with a torch when the lamp exploded. Glass shrapnel injured an employee's eye, resulting in…
RecordableTesting Unbreakable Glass
A maintenance employee fell to his death when he threw himself against a window on the 28th floor of a skyscraper. He was demonstrating…
RecordableCacti, Oh My!
An inexperienced employee was using a piece of heavy machinery to push dirt and clear vegetation at a worksite was severely injured when…
RecordableDrinking Fluids for Heat Stress
An employee experiences heat stress while working outside on a hot day. His supervisor sends him to the occupational health nurse who…
Not recordableEye Patch
An employee splashed diluted chemical in her eye and immediately washed it out at an emergency eye wash. She sees a doctor and the…
Not recordableNewt
During a bring your pet to work day, one employee brought a pet newt to the office. Another employee later swallowed the newt on a dare…
RecordableProtest
During the workday, an employee notices a political protest on the street and they walk outside to observe. The protest turns violent…
RecordableFace Infection
An emergency response worker must wear a respirator and cuts himself while shaving. The respirator irritates the cut after prolonged…
RecordableShopping Cart
Two employees are tasked with driving to Staples to replenish some office supplies. While pulling into the large empty parking lot, they…
RecordableBring Your Pet to Work
During a bring your pet to work day, one employee brought a pet python to his office. After not seeing the employee for most of the day,…
RecordableFlashlight
While investigating a power outage in the dark basement at work, the employee placed a flashlight in their mouth to remain hands-free.…
RecordableRobot Murder
An employee working in a manufacturing facility with industrial robots forgot to fully turn off a malfunctioning robot he was fixing.…
RecordableBeer Flood
Huge vats of beer ruptured and rushed into the street where an employee was conducting a survey. The beer swept the employee away…
RecordableICD (Implanted Cardiac Defibrillator)
An employee has an ICD (implanted cardiac defibrillator) and was vacuuming alone at work. He collapsed. His ICD kicked in and roused…
RecordableBlue Ice
A large chunk of frozen sewage material known as blue ice detaches from an airplane midflight and strikes a moving vehicle on a highway.…
RecordableFalling Boiler
An explosion launched a car-sized boiler through the roof of a company across the street from where an employee was working in an…
RecordableExploding Cell Phone
An employee was working outside on a hot sunny day and left their cell phone on the dashboard of their work vehicle. They retrieved…
RecordableBird Dookie
An employee was performing maintenance outside the building and heard a squawk. After looking up into a tree to investigate the sound, a…
RecordableWheelchair Transition
An employee who is paralyzed from the waist down parks in the company parking lot at the start of the day. While transitioning from his…
RecordableCOVID Vaccine Injury
An employee is heavily pressured by their employer to get the COVID19 vaccine. As a result of the vaccine, the employee experienced a…
RecordableCactus Mishap
An employee was handing a fuel receipt to their supervisor on a windy day and it blew out of their hands and into vegetation by the side…
RecordableVacuumed Finger
While vacuuming the office, an employee noticed the vacuum didn't appear to be working well and used their hand to feel for suction. The…
RecordablePetting a Bee
Employees working outside during a lunch break dare another employee to pet a bumble bee. The employee is stung by the bee and begins…
RecordablePushup Fail
During a lunch break in the employee break room, some employees challenge their fellow employee to clap between doing pushups. The suit…
RecordableWalking With Binoculars
Two employees are surveying power lines for vegetation overgrowth. While goofing around, an employee begins walking while looking…
RecordableCockroach Battle
An employee was trying to kill a cockroach by squishing it on a thick rug paper towel but it would not die. The employee picked it up…
RecordableMind Your Head
An employee injured their head on a "mind your head" sign that was installed by the safety team. The injury resulted in stitches. Is it…
RecordablePunched Self in Face
An employee was attempting to adjust their bra when their hand slipped and struck their mouth. As a result, they knocked a tooth loose.…
RecordableShart
An employee was sitting at a desk completing computer-based training using headphones. In the employee's words: "I was trying to fart…
RecordableRestroom Injury
An employee is hiding in the restroom from a micromanaging supervisor. While standing on a toilet to hide her feet, she slips and hits…
RecordableSevered Ear
While riding in an ATV through a worksite an employee loses control of the vehicle while turning on loose gravel and rolls into a ditch.…
RecordableScissor Accident
An employee is assembling flexible photovoltaic solar cell products in a manufacturing facility. While holding up a long sheet of…
RecordableSharp Rebar
An employee is walking through a construction site and catches his forehead just under his hard hat on a protruding piece of rebar. He…
Not recordableHammered Thumb
An employee working on a construction site smashes his thumb with a hammer while attempting to drive a nail into a board. The employee…
Not recordableLight Restrictions
A mechanic is injured and receives work restrictions so the employer has him complete his normal annual online training for the duration…
RecordableDouble Whammy
A shop worker breaks a fingernail loading a lightweight cardboard box into a truck cab. As he clips his nail, a piece flies up into his…
RecordableZip Stitch
While breaking down cardboard boxes using a pocket knife, an employee cuts his arm. The occupational health nurse closes the wound using…
RecordableMonkey Bite
A macaque monkey bites an employee working in a research lab. Monkeys can be naturally infected with Cercopithecine Herpes Virus 1, also…
RecordableCOVID-19 Vaccine Injury
An employee receives the COVID-19 vaccine as required by their employer. Due to a negative reaction to the vaccine, they become…
RecordableReinfected with New COVID-19 Strain
An employee who previously had a recordable by contracting COVID-19 at work from a coworker is reinfected with a new coronavirus…
RecordableCOVID-19 Hospitalization
An employee is hospitalized for COVID-19 after he begins feeling ill at work. No one else in the office has tested positive for…
Not recordableStruck by Lightning Working From Home
An employee is working from a home office due to a pandemic. Every morning they take a 15 minute walk to buy a coffee from a local shop.…
RecordableMAYHEM
Employee A is assigned to the role of grilling hamburgers and hotdogs during a summer workday luncheon. While attempting to scrape the…
Metal Brace
An employee jams his finger at his workstation. He is evaluated by the site nurse who places the finger in a metal split and tapes it.…
RecordableActive Release Technique
An automotive seat assembler develops tendonitis in his left elbow after refusing to follow the job rotation schedule and working the…
Not recordableJoint Manipulation
An office employee wearing flip flops gets their toe jammed underneath the restroom door and falls down, twisting their knee and hip…
Recordable"Struck By" Foot Injury
A 15lb piece of sheet metal falls four feet from a machine platform onto the foot of a machinist. He is seen by a nurse practitioner at…
Not recordableBlood Test
An employee is working at a chemical manufacturing facility and begins having difficulty breathing. He is seen by a doctor who decides…
Not recordablePrescription Meds for Diagnostics
An employee is pushing/guiding an 8 foot section of plastic pipe that is being moved with a crane when the sling fails and whips the…
Not recordableSand in Eye
An employee at a foundry works with sand molding to produce cast iron parts. The environment can be dusty and sand can fly at times due…
RecordableSent Home, is it Lost Time?
Joe works for a company that gives employees the option of working from home or in an office. Joe likes going into the office for the…
Not recordableHammer Meet Thumb
An employee is building crates for a warehouse and strikes his thumb with a hammer. The thumb is contused, and a couple days later, the…
Not recordableInjured Nose
An employee using the restroom on break is struck by the stall door when a co-worker was unaware the stall was occupied. The door…
Not recordableHorseplay
In a warehouse, during a lunch break, two employees are participating in an online viral challenge where a person drops a piece of paper…
RecordableBack Muscle Strain
Early in the work week, an employee alleges tightness and mild pain in his back after pushing a heavy cart in a warehouse. The employee…
Not recordableHernia
An employee alleges sharp stomach pain after struggling with a heavy lift on the job. The employee is evaluated by an occupational…
RecordableFractured Ribs
A truck driver hauling heavy freight experiences a rollover accident just before his DOT-required break. The truck driver is able to…
RecordablePunctured Ear Drum
An employee working in a rock quarry suffers a fall into rocky debris. Blood is coming from several wounds on his head, but none of the…
RecordableTendinitis Aggravation
A Shipping/Receiving employee has been tasked with opening and handling hundreds of boxes per day. After a full week of performing this…
RecordableWorker Produces Fewer Goods or Services
An employee disturbs an anthill while installing a pole into the ground for testing weather resistance for a new solar panel…
Not recordableRestricted Work During Scheduled Time Off
An employee is working in the field under a rotational shiftwork schedule where he works 16 hour days for one full week and then gets…
RecordableBlack Widow
A group of employees are cleaning out a neglected warehouse for a new project at work. Suddenly one employee screams out in pain…
RecordableThorn Prick
A maintenance employee is doing some of his regular landscaping duties around the edge of a company’s property trimming bushes. Some of…
RecordableKnee Sprain
An employee trips and falls at work. On the way down, his knee twists awkwardly, and he is in pain. He is seen by a doctor at an urgent…
RecordableDislocated Finger
An employee dislocates a finger while working on the job. The onsite nurse puts the finger back in place and accompanies the employee to…
RecordableCompany Ski Trip
On a business trip, a company approves a day of snow skiing as company entertainment while in the mountains. The employees on the trip…
RecordableBreak Room Slip
An employee enters the company break room during normal working hours and slips in a puddle of water that was present from a leaky…
RecordableLight Duty
An employee claims wrist pain due to assembly work at an automotive plant. She is seen at an occ health clinic where a doctor prescribes…
RecordableHeart Failure
John Henry was an employee for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. He was known as the best hand on the job for his great strength and…
RecordableLoss of Vision
An employee is sprayed in the face with a chemical and immediately loses vision. A co-worker rushes him over to the eyewash station…
Not recordableHand Sanitizer Burn (Static)
A company’s COVID-19 contingency plan requires employees to clean their hands on a stringent basis. Antibacterial soap is made readily…
RecordableEmployee Opts to Work
An employee is involved in a vehicle accident while driving from one worksite to another during their shift. They are directed by a…
RecordableEmployee Opts to Stay Home
An employee is involved in a vehicle accident while driving from one worksite to another during their shift. They are not badly injured…
Not recordableAmputated Earlobe
On a drilling rig, an oil field employee suffers an ear laceration that has taken off the lobe of his right ear. The ear is surgically…
RecordableCracked Denture
A mechanic is working a wrench on a piece of equipment at face level. The mechanic pulls back on the wrench and it slips and strikes him…
Not recordableWarm Wax Treatment
An assembly line employee reports aching pain in his hands to the third party Occupational Health Nurse that works on site. The nurse…
Not recordableKinesiology Tape
Upon elbow pain setting in at work, a vehicle seat assembler reports the pain to her supervisor. In the First Aid Office, the site…
Not recordableTherapeutic Exercise
An employee reports minor work-related pain in their hips and the occupational health nurse provides the employee with therapeutic…
RecordableInjured After Clocking Out
An employee clocks out and walks through the building to his vehicle that is parked in the company-owned parking lot. While walking…
RecordableMetal Splinter
A machinist catches a metal splinter in his thumb while cleaning debris from his machine at work. He attempts the splinter removal, but…
Not recordableSprained Ankle
An employee trips over a pallet and suffers a sprained ankle at work. A doctor prescribes ice treatment twice per day, over-the-counter…
Not recordableAvulsion Injury
An administrative assistant is using a paper cutter at work and slices the pad of her middle finger tip off. At a clinic, the doctor…
Not recordableDebris in Eye
An eye doctor discovers a small speck of rusted metal imbedded in an employee’s eye during a routine exam. The doctor asks the employee…
RecordableCOVID-19 (Coronavirus)
An employee becomes ill at work and is taken to a clinic for evaluation. The employee is confirmed infected with the COVID-19…
Not recordableUse of Liquid Bandage to Close a Wound
A gust of wind blows open company doors and disturbs the ceiling tiles. The ceiling tiles are shaken so much that some begin to fall…
RecordableIf the Employer Disagrees with the Doctor, is it Recordable?
An employee is injured at work and receives a recommendation of lost time from a medical professional. The employer and employee reject…
RecordableEmployee Loses Consciousness While Voluntarily Using an N95 Respirator at Work
An employee chooses to wear an N95 respirator at work, voluntarily. After walking briskly through the office to return to his desk from…
RecordableEmployee Refuses Medical Care
An employee suffers a hand laceration on the job and refuses medical evaluation or first aid treatment. Weeks pass by and the employee…
RecordableSmoke Inhalation
A ventilation system for metal grinding operations catches fire and smoke pushes back into the facility and an employee is exposed to…
RecordableLoss of Consciousness
An employee returns to the office after a week of work-related travel. Upon entering the restroom, the employee loses consciousness.…
RecordablePre-existing Condition Aggravated by Job Duties
An employee reports wrist pain while on the job. A medical professional determines the employee was born with an abnormal bone condition…
RecordableDoctor Clears Employee but Employee Takes Time Off
An employee is involved in a vehicle accident while driving from one work site to another during their shift. They are not badly injured…
Not recordableAlternative Job Given for Work Restrictions
An employee is given work restrictions but an alternative job is provided where the restrictions won’t affect the job duties. Is it…
RecordableEmployee Self-Diagnosis
If an employee diagnosis themselves with work-related cancer without an opinion from a licensed health care professional, is it recordable?
Not recordable