Accident and Incident Reporting Legislation

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), place a legal duty on:

• Employers
• Self-employed people
• People in control of premises

to report work-related deaths, major injuries or over-three-day injuries, work related diseases, and dangerous occurrences (near miss accidents). Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement. The information enables the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities, to identify where and how risks arise, and to investigate serious accidents.

As an employer, a person who is self-employed, or someone in control of work premises, you have legal duties under RIDDOR that require you to report and record some work-related accidents by the quickest means possible.

Reportable deaths and major injuries

Deaths

If there is an accident connected with work and your employee, or self-employed person working on the premises, or a member of the public is killed you must notify the enforcing authority without delay.

Major injuries

If there is an accident connected with work and your employee, or self-employed person working on the premises sustains a major injury, or a member of the public suffers an injury and is taken to hospital from the site of the accident, you must notify the enforcing authority without delay.

Reportable major injuries are:

• Fracture, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
• Amputation
• Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine
• Loss of sight (temporary or permanent)
• Chemical or hot metal burn to the eye or any penetrating injury to the eye
• Injury resulting from an electric shock or electrical burn leading to unconsciousness, or requiring resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
• Any other injury: leading to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or unconsciousness; or requiring resuscitation; or requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
• Unconsciousness caused by asphyxia or exposure to harmful substance or biological agent
• Acute illness requiring medical treatment, or loss of consciousness arising from absorption of any substance by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin
• Acute illness requiring medical treatment where there is reason to believe that this resulted from exposure to a biological agent or its toxins or infected material

Reportable over-three-day injuries

If there is an accident connected with work (including an act of physical violence) and your employee, or a self-employed person working on your premises, suffers an over-three-day injury you must report it to the enforcing authority within ten days.

An over-3-day injury is one which is not "major" but results in the injured person being away from work OR unable to do their full range of their normal duties for more than three days.

Reportable disease

If a doctor notifies you that your employee suffers from a reportable work-related disease, then you must report it to the enforcing authority. Reportable diseases include:

• Certain poisonings
• Some skin diseases such as occupational dermatitis, skin cancer, chrome ulcer, oil folliculitis/acne
• Lung diseases including: occupational asthma, farmer's lung, pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma
• Infections such as: leptospirosis; hepatitis; tuberculosis; anthrax; legionellosis and tetanus
• Other conditions such as: occupational cancer; certain musculoskeletal disorders; decompression illness and hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Reportable dangerous occurrences (near misses)

If something happens which does not result in a reportable injury, but which clearly could have done, then it may be a dangerous occurrence which must be reported immediately.

Reportable dangerous occurrences are:

• Collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
• Explosion, collapse or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipework
• Failure of any freight container in any of its load-bearing parts
• Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines
• Electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion
• Any unintentional explosion, misfire, failure of demolition to cause the intended collapse, projection of material beyond a site boundary, injury caused by an explosion; Accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness
• Failure of industrial radiography or irradiation equipment to de-energise or return to its safe position after the intended exposure period
• Malfunction of breathing apparatus while in use or during testing immediately before use
• Failure or endangering of diving equipment, the trapping of a diver, an explosion near a diver, or an uncontrolled ascent
• Collapse or partial collapse of a scaffold over five metres high, or erected near water where there could be a risk of drowning after a fall
• Unintended collision of a train with any vehicle
• Dangerous occurrence at a well (other than a water well)
• Dangerous occurrence at a pipeline
• Failure of any load-bearing fairground equipment, or derailment or unintended collision of cars or trains
• A road tanker carrying a dangerous substance overturns, suffers serious damage, catches fire or the substance is released
• A dangerous substance being conveyed by road is involved in a fire or released
• The following dangerous occurrences are reportable except in relation to offshore workplaces: unintended collapse of: any building or structure under construction, alteration or demolition where over five tonnes of material falls; a wall or floor in a place of work; any false-work
• Explosion or fire causing suspension of normal work for over 24 hours
• Sudden, uncontrolled release in a building of: 100 kg or more of flammable liquid; 10 kg of flammable liquid above its boiling point; 10 kg or more of flammable gas; or of 500 kg of these substances if the release is in the open air
• Accidental release of any substance which may damage health

Additional categories of dangerous occurrences apply to mines, quarries, relevant transport systems (railways etc) and offshore workplaces.