OSHA Investigating Injuries

Following the medical attention given to the employee, a prompt investigation of the accident should be conducted. Conducting accident investigations serves three purposes for employers. The first purpose is making employers aware of unsafe conditions. The condition of safety may be improved by identifying training requirements, updating equipment, and by instilling proper job procedures, or altering job design.
                                   
The second purpose of investigating accidents is to prevent fraudulent claims of injuries. Employers who conduct consistent and thorough investigations dissuade employees from making false workers’ compensation claims.

Record keeping is the third and possibly the most important purpose of investigating injuries. Under OSHA's recordkeeping rule (29 CFR 1904.1), companies that had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the prior calendar year are partially exempt from routine injury and illness recordkeeping – this exemption is based solely on company size, not on safety record, and does not apply to employers in certain designated high-hazard industries (29 CFR 1904.2) regardless of size. Other businesses need to maintain an annual record of work-related injuries and illnesses (OSHA Form 300, with a Form 300A summary posted each year). This requires documentation in case of subsequent inspection from OSHA.  Regardless of size or industry, all employers covered by the OSH Act must still report to OSHA any work-related fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.