OSHA Recordable Incident
A work-related injury or illness that meets OSHA's specific recordability criteria, medical treatment beyond basic first aid, days away from work, job restriction, or loss of consciousness among the triggers, and must be logged on the employer's OSHA 300 injury and illness log.
Why it matters
Not every jobsite injury is recordable, and not every recordable incident feels serious in the moment: the criteria are specific and sometimes counterintuitive (a single prescription-strength dose of medication can trigger recordability where an over-the-counter one wouldn't). Getting the classification right matters because the count directly feeds a company's [[concept-total-recordable-incident-rate|TRIR]].
On a real project
A worker receives stitches for a cut that required more than basic first aid. That crosses OSHA's recordability threshold, and the incident goes on the OSHA 300 log even though the worker returns to full duty the same day.
Who this matters most to
A Safety Manager makes the recordability determination for every jobsite injury and maintains the OSHA 300 log accurately, since a misclassification in either direction creates real compliance exposure. A Human Resources Manager coordinates the documentation with workers' compensation claims that often accompany a recordable incident.
Where this goes wrong
A supervisor classifies an injury as "just first aid" to keep it off the log, without checking whether the actual treatment given crosses OSHA's specific recordability criteria. An audit later finds the injury should have been recorded, turning a classification mistake into a recordkeeping violation on top of the original incident.