Recordable or not.
We had a minor injury with a first aid. There was clearly no need for anything other than a burn cream. Several days later the employees wound has a clearly defined red square around it , from an aloe Vera patch that was used for comfort. The patch caused severe irritation to the burn (that was healing perfectly prior) to become infected.
It is in the doctor report that It would not have become infected otherwise.
Now that it’s infected and irritated it requires beyond first aid treatment. Is this recordable ?
Is there a letter of interpretation that covers this ?
Comments (7)
I'm very curious what others have to say...with the opinion of the physician, I'd say probably not recordable.
I'm going to say it's recordable. The injury is work-related, and it required treatment beyond first aid. Why the burn became infected doesn't matter. If it wasn't for the workplace injury, there would be no infection.
As much as I would love to say it’s not recordable, I believe it is.
Take a look at the very last scenario on this OSHA page. It is not exactly your situation but I would say it’s close enough to count.
https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/faq-search?combine=Infection+
#1 I think it is an OSHA Recordable when all is said and done!
#2 I would ask the doctor if the "case" is work-related. The RTW slips all the docs use here are from the state of WI and all ask the doctor this question, "Is this medical condition work-related?" If the doc checks yes, you are stuck with a Recordable.
In my state, in reality if someone goes to a doctor, practically the doctor decides if it is a Recordable or not. I mostly like that idea.
Now if I disagree with doctor that is where the fun starts. I may have to go the IME route, but that gets into WC issues too, angers employees, and gets tricky. Subject of another lesson.