OSHA Interpretation Expands Recordable Injury Definition

New federal guidance expands the type of medical care triggering the mandate for employers to record injuries in OSHA logs.

The rule interpretation letter was published online Aug. 1 by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The letter says if an employee decides without first consulting a medical professional to treat wrist pain with a rigid brace, using the brace elevates the injury to becoming a recordable injury even if a doctor later says the brace isn’t necessary.

Barbara Jo Ruble, a safety consultant with Speciality Technical Consultants Inc. in Baltimore, told Bloomberg BNA Aug. 4 that she ...