Loss of consciouness
I am aware of 1904.7(b)(6)
Is every work-related injury or illness case involving a loss of consciousness recordable? Yes, you must record a work-related injury or illness if the worker becomes unconscious, regardless of the length of time the employee remains unconscious.
We had an employee lose consciousness yesterday for about 5 seconds. No injury from falling to floor and we learned of personal medical information. Is this a recordable just cause of loss of consciousness or does there have to be an injury from the loss of consciousness? As in, while falling arm hit piece of metal causing laceration that required stitches.
Just wanting clarification even though I think I know the answer.
Comments (1)
If you CAN confirm it's related to a personal health issue AND the work environment did not aggravate that condition, then it's not a recordable. If you CAN'T confirm it's from personal medical conditons AND it wasn't aggravated by the work environment, then it will be recordable. As noted in your original post from OSHA's standard, there is no specified amount of time they have to be unconscious. See excerpt below from an OSHA standard interpretation (as well as the link below it).
"In order to be a recordable event, a loss of consciousness must be the result of a work-related event or exposure. Loss of consciousness is no different, in this respect, from any other injury or illness. The exception to the presumption of work-relatedness in section 1904.5(b)(2)(ii) allows an employer to exclude cases that involve signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a non-work-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work environment. This exception allows employers to exclude cases where a loss of consciousness is due solely to a personal health condition, such as epilepsy, diabetes, or narcolepsy. See, the January 19, 2001, preamble to the final rule revising OSHA's recordkeeping regulation at 66 FR 5994."
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2015-10-19