Reporting Fatalities and Multiple Hospitalization Incidents

You must verbally report the death of any employee from a work-related incident or the in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees as a result of a work-related incident. Report within eight hours following the incident by telephone or in person to your local OSHA office that is nearest to the site of the incident.

If you can't talk to a person at the area office, report the fatality or multiple hospitalization incident using the OSHA toll-free central telephone number, 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742). Leaving a message on OSHA's answering machine, faxing the area office, or sending an email is not acceptable.

When an employee dies or hospitalization occurs long after the incident, it is not necessary to report. You must only report each fatality or multiple hospitalization incident that occurs within thirty days of the incident.

If you do not learn of a reportable incident at the time it occurs and the incident would otherwise be reportable, you are required to make the report within eight hours of the time the incident is reported to you, your agent(s), or employee(s).

Provide Incident Information

When you contact OSHA, you will need to provide the following information for each fatality or multiple hospitalization incident:

• Establishment name,

• Location of the incident,

• Time of the incident,

• Number of fatalities or hospitalized employees,

• Names of any injured employees,

• Your contact person and his or her telephone number, and

• A brief description of the incident.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

You do not have to report every fatality or multiple hospitalization incident resulting from a motor vehicle accident. If the motor vehicle accident occurs on a public street or highway and does not occur in a construction work zone, you do not have to report the incident to OSHA. However, these injuries must be recorded on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep such records.

Commercial or Public Transportation Systems

OSHA does not require that you call to report a fatality or multiple hospitalization incident if it involves a commercial airplane, train, subway, or bus accident. Fatalities or multiple hospitalization incidents that occur on a commercial or public transportation system must be recorded on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep such records.

Heart Attacks

If an employee has a heart attack at work and dies, you must report the fatality to OSHA. Your local OSHA area office director will decide whether to investigate the incident, depending on the circumstances of the heart attack.