Health & Safety Guidance Notes : RIDDOR

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95) require employers and self employed and those in control of premises to report:  Injuries resulting in more than 3 days absence from work within 10 days of the accident.

Fatalities, major injuries and in certain cases, injuries to members of the public (where they are taken directly to hospital from the accident scene), require to be reported on immediately.

Reportable major injuries are:

• Fracture other than to fingers, thumbs or toes;
• Amputation;
• Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine;
• Loss of sight (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.

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

Dangerous Occurrences: (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)  

Reportable dangerous occurrences are:

• Collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment;
• Explosion, collapse or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipe work;
• Failure of any freight container in any of its load-bearing parts;
• Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines;
• Electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion;
• Any unintentional explosion, misfire, failure of demolition to cause the intended collapse, projection of material beyond a site boundary, injury caused by an explosion;
• Accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness;
• Failure of industrial radiography or irradiation equipment to de-energise or return to its safe position after the intended exposure period;
• Malfunction of breathing apparatus while in use or during testing immediately before use;

How to report:

Incidents can be reported in a number of ways but telephoning is the quickest and most straightforward with no need to fill in a report form.  You will be sent a copy of the final report for your records.

• Tel: 0845 300 9923
• Email: riddor@natbrit.com.
• Internet: www.riddor.gov.uk

Additional information:

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse31.pdf

Main legislative requirements:

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95)

Guidance Notes - printable version