What do I report?
In the course of my Health and Safety work, I’m asked from time to time, “What sort of injury or event should be reported to WorkSafe.” Meaning : How bad does it need to be, to report.
To go back a step. Work related injuries or near misses (or health issues) need to be recorded, internally. Its not just for the purposes of recording. (More paperwork!)
1)It’s to formally analyse what happened and why it happened and perhaps more importantly, “What we plan to do to prevent reoccurrence”. This sort of investigation should be carried out impartially and without “blame”. In a small firm it would usually be the business owner or manager that carries it out.
2)It’s important to review incident and accident records on a regular basis. Is there a pattern emerging? eg Is the same event repeating? If so, it’s important to sort it.
So, at what level do I report it to WorkSafe? There are some guidelines outlined on the WorkSafe website here. It outlines specific injuries, events, and health concerns.
https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/notifications/notifiable-event/what-is-a-notifiable-event/#lf-doc-39643
This helps sum it up (From WorkSafe)
All injuries or illnesses that require (or would usually require) a person to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment are notifiable.
Admitted to a hospital means being admitted to hospital as an inpatient for any length of time – it doesn’t include being taken to the hospital for out-patient treatment by a hospital’s Emergency Department, or for corrective surgery at a later time, such as straightening a broken nose.
However, it’s important to read the webpage above. (Scroll down the page) There are circumstances where a person may not be admitted to hospital, that need to be reported.
Bottom line, if in doubt, report it. You can go online and answer a few simple questions that will clarify if it needs to be reported, or not. Here
https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/notify-worksafe/
If you have a minute, go online now, and check it out. You will get a better idea.