Report: Half of Significant Work Injuries Go Unreported

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a U.S. federal organization that sets rules and regulations, inspects and ensures the provision of safe and healthy work environments to the working class of America. They also provide training for implementation of workplace safety.

Work-related injuries and illnesses should be reported in time by the employers to the regulatory body. However, according to an OSHA report, more than 50 percent of serious injuries and fatalities were left unreported in 2015.

OSHA concluded that though serious injuries should be reported within 24 hours and fatalities within 8, many employers, especially small and mid-sized organizations do not follow the set rules for reporting injuries and fatalities. OSHA has attributed this to two main reasons –

• With the new regulations released in January 2015, many small and mid-sized companies are unaware of the procedures.
• Some employers, despite being aware of these procedures, do not report them to escape complicated procedures resulting in loss of time and money.

A number of cases were reported where employers refused worker compensation benefits to workers and their families, trying to prove that the injury or illness occurred out of the work environment. This poses a difficulty for OSHA to evaluate the safety of work places and maintain a safe work environment.

According to OSHA, 2014 saw about 4600 work-related fatalities (with an alarming 164 occurring in Illinois itself) and about 3 million non-fatal serious injuries and illnesses across the country.

Reporting and Record Maintenance

All employers that are not partially exempted and those having more than ten workers in the establishment are expected to maintain accurate records of injuries and illnesses. The OSHA form 300A should be readily available to employees. They should also make all records available to former and current employees and their representatives by the end of day if requested. They should report:

• All fatalities
• All injuries and illnesses leading to loss of work time, medical treatment more than basic first aid, loss of consciousness, change of job due to work restriction.
• Work-related injuries and illnesses that are diagnosed by a licensed medical practitioner
• Events that have severely aggravated any pre-existing health condition.

Measures to Encourage Employers

OSHA has simplified the injury and illness reporting procedures for all employers. They provide employers with three easy ways of reporting work-related injuries and illnesses:

• Employers can call a confidential toll free number,
• Contact a local area officer and report the incident, or
• Fill out the online reporting form.

Repercussions of Not Reporting

Since OSHA has made reporting easier, they have also increased the penalties for employers who violate the rules. At present, an employer can be fined anywhere from $1000 to $7000 for failure to report. These figures will likely increase in the near future. Recently, OSHA fined an employer $70,000 for willful negligence and non-reporting.

Importance of Reporting

While it is common knowledge that injuries and illnesses can happen in any job and industry, OSHA, with the help of the data provided by employers can work around making work environments safer, by trying to reduce present health hazards, or by helping employers provide their workers with safeguards like trainings, protective gear and better compensation benefits in case of any injury or illness, etc. This significance of reporting work-related injuries and illnesses to OSHA should be understood and implemented by all employers, small and big alike.

If you have been injured at the workplace, you should be aware of your right to workers compensation. Contact a competent Chicago workers compensation Willens Law to learn more about your rights.