Hi Kate,

We had a similar case a few months ago where a member of staff ruptured a muscle walking between two work locations, although there was no case for a claim against the company we reported the incident as she was officially 'at work' when it happened.

Kate you say there was nothing that caused the injury as far as you are aware, how then did it happen? Did his knee simply give way as he was walking? If there was nothing that contributed to the injury was it cause by an existing weakness of the knee if so how was this injury sustain in the first place (remember the three year rule). The fact that he agreed to work on after being requested by the manager shows that there was some level of agreement so he felt able to do so, that indicates some level of acceptance on his part. You say the ICC said not reportable so why would they change thier opinion, it would be safer to ask them and act accordingly as reporting it will not affect the fact thet a claim is being made, if he claims he claims, that is a different ball game alltogether. It is legal compliance you are asking about not some form of defence.

"IP has previous medical issues with the knee" so yes there was an exisitng weakness.

Kate - you're going to get a shedload of opinions for each option if past RIDDOR threads are anything to go by! I would say still not reportable on the basis that it is not "out of or in connection with work". However you know the full circumstances best so are best placed to make the judgement. Just record what you decide and why and move on.

Hi Kate

I agree with Heather that you are going to get a varied response.

I have to consider similar issues as we have community staff who are not based at our main sites. It will depend on the circumstances and you may need to get consent from the person to obtain further medical evidence to enable you to dismiss that it was in or out of connection with work. The fact that they were at work establishes a tacit connection with the activity (i.e. Walking) and it will need to be determined whether any issues arose from their working activity and whether this contributed to the problem. I have had 3 incidents reported last week involving slips and trips outside of the main sites (in public areas). Of these I have been able to determine that 2 are not reportable based on the information received as technically they had finished work. However, the third I have reported (slip on ice) as the reason they were at that address was that they were required to be due to their work commitments. I cannot therefore rule out that this was not in connection or arising from their work activities.

Having said that though our HSE assigned Inspector(s) do not tend to take a full investigation into these types of incidents.

There is also another side. A few years ago I reported one staff member who slipped and sustained a multiple fracture. However, on investigation the severity of the injury did not reflect the details noted. I suggested to the individual that they referred themselves to occupational health and they were subsequently diagnosed with a medical condition which was treatable but that they were unaware of.