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Statute Link:
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
RIDDOR requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not to all incidents.
Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement. The information enables the enforcing authorities to identify where and how risks arise and to investigate serious accidents. The enforcing authorities can then help and advise employers on preventive action to reduce injury, ill health and accidental loss.
When does an employer need to act?
An employer must report:
• deaths
• major injuries
• accidents resulting in over 3 day injury
• diseases
• dangerous occurrences
• gas incidents
Death or major injury
If there is an accident connected with work and: an employee, or a self-employed person working on an employer's premises is killed or suffers a major injury (including as a result of physical violence); or a member of the public is killed or taken to hospital; the employer must notify the enforcing authority without delay.
The employer can either telephone or complete the appropriate form on the RIDDOR website:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/online.htm
Reportable injuries are:
• fracture of any bone - in the arm or wrist, but not a bone in the hand; or in the leg or ankle, but not a bone in the foot (fingers, thumbs and toes are not reportable)
• fracture of the skull, spine or pelvis
• amputation of a hand or foot; or a finger, thumb or toe, or any part thereof if the joint or bone is completely severed
• dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine;
• loss of sight of an eye (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.
Over-three-day injury
If there is an accident connected with work (including an act of physical violence) and an employee, or a self-employed person working on the employer's premises, suffers an over-three-day injury the employer 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.
Disease
If a doctor notifies an employer that an employee suffers from a reportable work-related disease then the employer 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.
A full list of reportable diseases is to found HERE
Dangerous occurrence
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 (eg by telephone or completing a form on the RIDDOR web site).
Reportable dangerous occurrences are:
1. collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment;
2. explosion, collapse or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipework;
3. failure of any freight container in any of its load-bearing parts;
4. plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines;
5. electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion;
6. any unintentional explosion, misfire, failure of demolition to cause the intended collapse, projection of material beyond a site boundary, injury caused by an explosion;
7. accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness;
8. failure of industrial radiography or irradiation equipment to de-energise or return to its safe position after the intended exposure period;
9. malfunction of breathing apparatus while in use or during testing immediately before use;
10. failure or endangering of diving equipment, the trapping of a diver, an explosion near a diver, or an uncontrolled ascent;
11. 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;
12. unintended collision of a train with any vehicle;
13. dangerous occurrence at a well (other than a water well);
14. dangerous occurrence at a pipeline;
15. failure of any load-bearing fairground equipment, or derailment or unintended collision of cars or trains;
16. a road tanker carrying a dangerous substance overturns, suffers serious damage, catches fire or the substance is released;
17. a dangerous substance being conveyed by road is involved in a fire or released;
18. 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;
19. explosion or fire causing suspension of normal work for over 24 hours;
20. 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;
21. accidental release of any substance which may damage health.
Note: additional categories of dangerous occurrences apply to mines, quarries, relevant transport systems (railways etc) and offshore workplaces
Record Keeping
An employer must keep a record of any reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence. This must include the date and method of reporting; the date, time and place of the event, personal details of those involved and a brief description of the nature of the event or disease.
The employer can keep the record in any form he chooses. He could, for example, choose to keep the records by keeping copies of report forms in a file; recording the details on a computer; or maintaining a written log.
If the employer chooses to report the incident by telephone or through the RIDDOR web site, the Incident Contact Centre will post the employer a copy of the record held within the database. Requests to make amendments to the record can be made if the employer feels the report is not fully accurate.
Further information on RIDDOR can be obtained from:
A Guide to the reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. (L73)
ISBN 0-7176-1012-8. - Available from HSE Books
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