When, how and why you must report an accident

With an increase in the number of workplace accidents going unreported to The Health & Safety Executive, now seems a good time to review and update procedures and an understanding of what is required. Fines can be up to £20,000 and the threat of imprisonment is also present. Any charge will also lead to difficulties in obtaining insurance cover in the future.

Most employers do not flout the law intentionally; it is their lack of understanding and awareness that catches them out. This newsletter provides you will an in-depth explanation of what you need to know and acts as a good reference document for the future.

Who is responsible for reporting?
Employers and people in control of work premises are responsible for submitting reports under RIDDOR.

Types of reportable incidents:
A RIDDOR report is only required when:

• The accident is work related, and

• It is of a type which is reportable.

What is an ‘accident’?
In relation to RIDDOR, an accident is a separate, identifiable, unintended incident which causes physical injury. This specifically includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work.

Injuries themselves, e.g. ‘feeling a sharp twinge’, are not accidents. There must be an identifiable external event that causes the injury, e.g. a falling object striking someone. Cumulative exposures to hazards, which eventually cause injury (e.g. repetitive lifting), are not classed as ‘accidents’ under RIDDOR.

What is meant by ‘work-related’?
RIDDOR only requires you to report accidents if they happen ‘out of or in connection with work’. The fact that there is an accident at the work premises does not, in itself, mean that the accident is work-related – the work activity itself must contribute to the accident. An accident is ‘work-related’ if any of the following played a significant role:

• the way the work was carried out,

• any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for the work, or

• the condition of the site or premises where the accident happened.

Bone fractures include a break, crack or chip. They are reportable when diagnosed or confirmed by a doctor, including when they are specified on a GP ‘fit note’. In some cases, there may be no definitive evidence of a fracture (e.g. if an X-ray is not taken), but the injury will still be reportable if a doctor considers it is likely that there is a fracture. Self-diagnosed ‘suspected fractures’ are not reportable.

Amputation includes both a traumatic amputation injury at the time of an accident, and surgical amputation following an accident, as a consequence of the injuries sustained.

Any blinding and injuries causing reduction in sight are reportable when a doctor diagnoses that the effects are likely to be permanent.

Injuries to the brain or internal organs in the chest or abdomen are reportable, when caused by crushing as result of an accident.

Which:

• covers more than 10% of the whole body’s total surface area, or

• causes significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs.

Burns which meet the above criteria are reportable, irrespective of the nature of the agent involved, and so include burns caused by direct heat, chemical burns and radiological burns. 

Medical staff may indicate the approximate proportion of skin suffering burn damage, and charts are often available in hospital burns units. In adults of working age, the Rule of Nines can help estimate the body surface area (BSA) affected:

• skin covering the head and neck: 9%

• skin covering each upper limb: 9%

• skin covering the front of the torso: 18%

• skin covering the rear of the torso: 18%

• skin covering each lower limb: 18%

If the BSA of a burn exceeds 15% in an adult, they are likely to require hospitalisation for intravenous fluid resuscitation.

Where the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs are significantly harmed as a consequence of a burn, this is a reportable injury irrespective of the surface area covered by that burn. Damage caused by smoke inhalation is not included in this definition.

Scalping is the traumatic separation or peeling of the skin from the head due to an accident, e.g. hair becoming entangled in machinery. Lacerations, where the skin is not separated from the head, are not included, nor are surgical procedures where skin removal is deliberate.

Loss of consciousness means that the injured person enters a state where there is a lack of response, either vocal or physical, to people trying to communicate with them. The length of time a person remains unconscious is not significant in terms of whether an accident is reportable.

Asphyxia (lack of oxygen) may happen when a person enters an oxygen-deficient atmosphere, such as a confined space, or are exposed to poisonous gases, e.g. carbon monoxide. 

Which:

• leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness or

• requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours

An enclosed space includes any space wholly or partly enclosed, to the extent that there is a significantly increased risk to the health and safety of a person in that space by virtue of its enclosed nature. This includes any confined space as defined by the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, and additionally similar spaces where there is a foreseeable risk of hypothermia (e.g. a cold store).

NB: Hypothermia is not a specified risk in the Confined Spaces Regulations.

Hypothermia and heat-induced illness includes situations where a person has an adverse reaction (the physical injury) to intense heat or cold acting on the body, so they need help from someone else.

In some cases, employers and self-employed workers may not be in a position to know the full extent of an injury, e.g. when a prognosis has not yet been established in relation to an eye injury, or when efforts are being made to treat an injured limb which may ultimately require surgical amputation. In such situations, there is no requirement to make precautionary reports of specified injuries. It is likely that the accident will in any case require reporting due to the injured person being incapacitated for more than seven days. The enforcing authority should be notified or updated as soon as a specified injury has been confirmed.

Reportable diseases

Regulation 8 requires employers and self-employed people to report cases of certain diagnosed reportable diseases which are linked with occupational exposure to specified hazards. The reportable diseases and associated hazards are set out below.

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: where the person’s work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools

• Cramp of the hand or forearm: where the person’s work involves prolonged periods of repetitive movement of the fingers, hand or arm

• Occupational dermatitis: where the person’s work involves significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitiser or irritant

• Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome: where the person’s work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools, or holding materials subject to percussive processes, or processes causing vibration

• Occupational asthma: where the person’s work involves significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitiser

• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis: in the hand or forearm, where the person’s work is physically demanding and involves frequent, repetitive movements

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve, which controls sensation and movement in the hand. It is not always caused by work-related factors. Typically, workplace risks are associated with the use of hand-held vibrating power tools, such sanders, grinders, chainsaws etc.

Where cramp is so severe as to lead to a clinical diagnosis, it can be severely debilitating, and impair a person’s ability to carry out their normal work. This condition is reportable when it is chronic, and is associated with repetitive work movements. The condition is usually characterised by a person being unable to carry out a sequence of what were previously well co-ordinated movements.

An acute incident of cramp which may take place in the course of work is not reportable.

Dermatitis is reportable when associated with work-related exposure to any chemical or biological irritant or sensitising agent. In particular, this includes any chemical with the warning ’may cause sensitisation by skin contact’, or ’irritating to the skin’. Epoxy resins, latex, rubber chemicals, soaps and cleaners, metalworking fluids, cement, wet work, enzymes and wood can all cause dermatitis. Corrosive and irritating chemicals also lead to dermatitis. Construction work, health service work, rubber making, printing, paint spraying, agriculture, horticulture, electroplating, cleaning, catering, hairdressing and florists are all associated with dermatitis.

Dermatitis can be caused by exposure to a range of common agents found outside the workplace. If there is good evidence that the condition has been caused solely by such exposure rather than by exposure to an agent at work, it is not reportable.

Workers whose hands are regularly exposed to high vibration, e.g. in industries where vibratory tools and machines are used, may suffer from impaired blood circulation and damage to the nerves in the hand and arm; the disease is known as ‘hand-arm vibration syndrome’. Other names used in industry include vibration white finger, dead finger, dead hand and white finger. Typically, workplace risks are associated with the use of hand-held vibrating power tools, such as percussive drills and hammers, rotary grinders and sanders, chainsaws etc. Risks are also associated with holding materials which vibrate while being processed by powered machinery such as pedestal grinders, riveting machines, rotary polishers etc.

Asthma is reportable when associated with work-related exposure to any respiratory sensitiser. In particular, this will include any chemical with the warning ‘may cause sensitisation by inhalation’. Known respiratory sensitisers include epoxy resin fumes, solder fume, grain dusts, wood dusts and other substances. Asthma is a common condition in the general population.

If there is good evidence that the condition was pre-existing, and was neither exacerbated nor triggered by exposure at work, the condition is not reportable.

Tendonitis and tenosynovitis are types of tendon injury. Tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon, and tenosynovitis means inflammation of the sheath (synovium) that surrounds a tendon. Workers who undertake physically demanding, repetitive work are at increased risk of developing these conditions. Physically demanding work includes (but is not restricted to) tasks involving repeated lifting and manipulation of objects (e.g. block-laying and assembly line work), and activities involving constrained postures or extremes of movement in the hand or wrist.

A reportable disease must be diagnosed by a doctor. Diagnosis includes identifying any new symptoms, or any significant worsening of existing symptoms. For employees, they need to provide the diagnosis in writing to their employer. Doctors are encouraged to use standard wording when describing reportable diseases on written statements they make out for their patients.

Self-employed people do not normally obtain written statements from their doctors when off work through illness. To take account of this, for a self-employed person, the doctor’s verbal diagnosis of a reportable disease is sufficient for it to require reporting to the enforcing authority. As with employees, this only applies if their current job involves exposure to the associated 

When do I need to report an incident?

For most types of incident, including:

• accidents resulting in the death of any person

• accidents resulting in specified injuries to workers

• non-fatal accidents requiring hospital treatment to non-workers and

• dangerous occurrences

The responsible person must notify the enforcing authority without delay, in accordance with the reporting procedure (Schedule 1). This is most easily done by reporting online. Alternatively, for fatal accidents or accidents resulting in specified injuries to workers only, you can phone 0345 300 9923.

NB: A report must be received within 10 days of the incident.

For accidents resulting in the over-seven-day incapacitation of a worker, you must notify the enforcing authority within 15 days of the incident, using the appropriate online form.

Cases of occupational disease, including those associated with exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or biological agents, as soon as the responsible person receives a diagnosis, using the appropriate online form

• Q. A visiting parent tripped over a trailing cable in the nursery and hurt herself badly. We didn’t call an ambulance as her friend drove her to a hospital. Is this reportable?

• A. Yes. You must report cases where a person not at work is injured due to a work-related accident and is taken from your premises to a hospital, by whatever means, for treatment.

• Q. A visitor to the nursery had a serious injury, but said they were okay and wouldn’t go to hospital. Is this reportable?

• A. No. The duty is for you to make a report when a person not at work is injured because of a work-related accident and is taken, by whatever means, to a hospital for treatment.

• Q. A member of the public fell over in our premises, as a precaution they went to hospital, but when examined the hospital said they had no injuries. Is this reportable?

• A. No. RIDDOR only requires you to report when people have been injured because of a work-related accident. If the hospital cannot find any injury there is no need to make a report.  

• Q. A person slipped over in the setting, but said they were unhurt. Much later they told us they had gone to their GP the next day, who then referred them to hospital. Is this reportable?

• A. No. The injured person must be taken from where the accident happened, by whatever means, to a hospital for treatment. A GP practice or a drop-in clinic is not a hospital, so there is no duty to report.

• Q. A child, under the supervision of his father, falls from play equipment in a Local Authority maintained children’s play area, breaking his arm. Is this reportable?

• A. No. If the equipment was in good working order and free of defects.

• Q. What if the child was under the supervision of someone at work, such as a nursery practitioner?

• A. An accident would generally be reportable if it was attributable to a failure of staff to supervise play activities properly (when it was being carried out under their charge), or a failure of health and safety management systems.