JJ Keller offers some tips for keeping an OSHA 300 log.

How do you log it?

Keeping the OSHA 300 Injury and Illness log for your company can be challenging, as in the following example.

A former employee tells you that he or she had just come from their personal physician about a possible work-related injury. The physician recommended physical therapy and provided a prescription muscle relaxer to your former employee.

However, the event that caused the injury actually occurred almost two months prior. At the time the injury occurred, the employee still worked for you but did not require medical attention beyond first aid, nor did the employee seek additional medical treatment.

Now what are you supposed to do? Is this recordable?

If the physician believes that the injury or illness was a result of the work environment, then it is recordable. If the injury resulted from a known, single event, use that date, even if the injury did not meet the recording criteria until a later time. If the injury or illness develops over time, such as carpal-tunnel syndrome, then the injury is recorded on the date it becomes recordable, or on the date it is diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

If you have a "contemporaneous" medical opinion, the employer can choose the opinion which is most authoritative.

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Remember you can track incidents by employee, department or the business in general but you must keep a log.  That log needs to be posted with other HR information and submitted annually.  For help in reducing your OSHA log size and creating a safer work environment; visit the DOT Doctor (http://thedotdoctor.com) for assistance.     Happy and Safe New Year to all!