OSHA 301 = Injury Report Forms

OSHA Form 301 is the more detailed injury report form to complete that gives complete details on the accident or incident that caused the injury or illness to the worker. 

Filling out the form not only fulfills OSHA requirements, but it also is a helpful step in determining WHAT happened, WHY it happened, and hopefully clues (or clear guidance) on HOW to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

Helpful Answers Regarding Questions About Injuries and Illnesses

1. What is an Injury? An injury is any wound or damage to the body resulting from an event in the work environment.  Follow the OSHA Recordable rules to determine if it is serious enough to be recorded.

2.What is an Illness? Illnesses can include skin diseases and disorders, respiratory conditions, poisoning, hearing loss, and a list of other occupational illnesses. Each is briefly described below.

3.What exactly are Skin Diseases and Disorders?  These are illnesses involving the worker’s skin that are caused by work exposure to chemicals, plants, or other substances at work.

4.What are Respiratory Conditions? These illnesses are associated with breathing hazardous biological agents, chemicals, dust, gases, vapors, or fumes at work.

5.What is Meant by the Term Poisoning?  Poisoning includes disorders evidenced by abnormal concentration of toxic substances in blood, other tissues, other bodily fluids, or the breath that are caused by the ingestion or absorption of toxic substances into the body while on the job.

6.What is Considered Work-Related Hearing Loss? Noise-induced hearing loss is defined for injury report forms as a change in hearing threshold relative to the baseline audiogram of an average of 10 dB or more in either ear at 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz, and the employees’ total hearing level is 25 dB or more above the audiometric zero in the same ear(s).

7.What are Other Occupational Illnesses? Examples of what OSHA considers a work-related illness, if contracted at the work-environment, following the conditions of what is an OSHA Recordable:

  1. Heatstroke
  2. Sunstroke
  3. Heat exhaustion
  4. Heat stress
  5. Freezing
  6. Frostbite
  7. Other effects of exposure to low temperatures
  8. Decompression sickness
  9. Effects of ionizing radiation (isotopes, x-rays, radium)
  10. Effects of non-ionizing radiation (welding flash, ultra-violet rays, lasers)
  11. Anthrax
  12. Bloodborne pathogenic diseases (like AIDS, HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C)
  13. Brucellosis
  14. Malignant or benign tumors
  15. Histoplasmosis
  16. Coccidioidomycosis

Additional information