The day has gone from bad to worse. When you got to the plant this morning you were informed that third shift had sent an employee to the local hospital. Your First Responders sent the employee to the local Emergency Room via ambulance with the tip of the employee’s right index finger in a paper cup of ice. You get to the ER a bit later and the employee’s spouse informs you the doctors could not save and re-attach the finger. Next you realize that per 29 CFR 1904.39 you will have to call OSHA within the next twenty-four (24) hours.
In cases like this my normal course of action is to first ensure that I really must call OSHA and report the injury. If somehow by miracle the doctors were able to reattach the finger and were to diagnose the injury as an “avulsion” instead of an amputation I would not have to call OSHA. OSHA requires you to notify them in case of a fatality, employee hospitalization, amputation, and loss of an eye. Next if the injury happened three days ago and just now the finger had to be amputated, we had not known of the amputation within twenty-four (24) hours of the injury, we would then not have to call either. However, in this case the injury occurred three (3) hours ago, and is a definite amputation, so we must call OSHA to report the injury.
Next, I before I call OSHA I need to know as much about the accident as possible. What I know before I even start is that due to our NACIS code we are in OSHA’s Highly Hazardous Industries and OSHA currently has a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Amputations which covers our industry. The word, “amputation” has a special connotation in manufacturing. Most people would consider amputations the most serious type of injury, after fatalities and extensive burns. Knowing this information, I may conclude that:
First, will have to report to OSHA the business name which will tell them the industry we are in. I will have to tell them the injury is an amputation. Next, they will make a snap judgment that it is highly likely Lockout and/or Machine Guarding are involved as per causes to the accident. They get phone calls from employers all the time, and they know in manufacturing Lockout and/or Machine Guarding are involved most often in amputations in manufacturing. They will conclude this before I even tell them how the accident occurred.
Second, after I make the call to OSHA, they will reach one of three decisions:
- Send a CSHO (Compliance Safety & Health Officer) to our plant for an investigation.
- Put the case into their Rapid Response Incident (RRI) Process. They will send us a standard questionnaire. From our answers to the questions on the questionnaire OSHA will make a determination to send a CSHO, ask for more information, or drop the case.
- Drop the case and close the file.
We would like most for OSHA to drop the case and close the file, but in the case of an amputation, that decision is extremely unlikely. We could hope to get into the RRI process but an amputation from a Highly Hazardous Injury makes that option at about 10%. Our answers in the RRI will trigger a CSHO visit anyways so at best we may be only prolonging the inevitable. Likely, no matter what we do we will have a CSHO visit to our facility within the next few days.
Third, I will get back to the plant and do my best to find out exactly what happened and why it happened. I also know what OSHA knows and will concentrate on Lockout and/or Machine Guarding. From what I learned about the accident I will understand where we are at risk from OSHA. I will notify my management of a probable OSHA visit and we will review our company policy on “Governmental Agency Visits.” I will gather all our training records on Lockout and Machine Guarding and other important related documents.
Within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident I will notify OSHA of the amputation. I have two main options with two sub-options:
- First is to complete the notification online off the OSHA.gov website. It is a standard form: https://www.osha.gov/pls/ser/serform.html
- Phone Call with two options on whom you call:
- OSHA’s Hotline 800 number: 1-800-321-6742
- Or the nearest OSHA Local Office
Before you call OSHA, you must realize what you tell OSHA can and will be used against you. In answering the questions answer the question, but exactly that! Do not elaborate or give additional information not requested. OSHA does not need to advise us of our rights. My preferred method to notify OSHA of an injury is to call the local OSHA Office. I am a bit old fashion and prefer the distinctive touch. I have a lot of experience talking to OSHA and am comfortable doing so, especially to the local office. In additions, if think we really have a chance to get into the RRI process I would go with this option as it gives us our best shot. If you are going to be nervous, not sure you can control what you say, or inexperienced I would complete the online form. In this case we are having a CSHO visit no matter what we say, so it does not make much difference how we report if we do so. Since we want to limit our exposure, the online form might be the best option in this case. The online form will give us the most time to prepare.
Before OSHA visits I will implement every possible corrective action to remedy what was discovered from the accident report. For the corrective actions I am not able to implement before the CSHO visit I will have detailed action plans prepared to review with OSHA. It is important to show OSHA that your safety program is important to the organization and that employee safety is important to you. You absolutely do not want to convey the opposite to OSHA! Use your time wisely here!
By showing OSHA that you will do what needs to be done to keep your employees safe, your experience will go as well as you can hope, and best position you for what comes next!
If Safety Fitz can assist you with contacting OSHA or any other safety or health issue please let us know! Thank you and your feedback is welcomed!
