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hardworkingdude  
#1 Posted : 12 August 2020 07:36:38(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
hardworkingdude

Hi all, an employee gets hurt (feels some tightness in a muscle) and feels fine to work and comes in to work for a week. He then gets signed off for two weeks by his doctor, is this a riddor? 

Terry556  
#2 Posted : 12 August 2020 07:46:06(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Terry556

If the injury happened in work, and he or she is off work for 7 days or more then yes this is RIDDOR reportable, what I would do is carry out an investigation

HSSnail  
#3 Posted : 12 August 2020 08:02:57(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

The HSE used to do a fact sheet on this but i cannot find it at the moment.

This is always a difficult one, but as i remeber the advice where an employee continues to work for a period of days and then goes off sick, the causation chain is broken and you cannot prove that the accident/injury at the time is responsible. One example they used to give was "bad backs" you had to be able to point to a specific incident and not just repeated lifting. Without knowing the actual incident and injury this is difficult to answer

Hope someone else can find the link for you.

Sorry you did mention the injury - Tightness of muscle - i dont think that is a clear cut RIDDOR

Edited by user 12 August 2020 08:08:52(UTC)  | Reason: correction as injury was mentioned

chris42  
#4 Posted : 12 August 2020 08:07:00(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
chris42

It may not be reportable! Was there a specific accident that caused it or was this just a build up over time. If there was a defined incident then it could be reportable as an over 7-day incident. However, if it is just a build up over time then it is not. Either way internal injury needs investigating.

Also could not find the link.

Chris

CptBeaky  
#5 Posted : 12 August 2020 08:26:59(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
CptBeaky

"Injuries themselves, eg ‘feeling a sharp twinge’, are not accidents. There must be an identifiable external event that causes the injury, eg a falling object striking someone. Cumulative exposures to hazards, which eventually cause injury (eg repetitive lifting), are not classed as ‘accidents’ under RIDDOR."

From https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/key-definitions.htm

So it is not a specified injury, nor is it a result of an accident that resulted in over 7 days of incapcitation, unless that "tightness in a muscle" was the direct result of "a separate, identifiable, unintended incident, which causes physical injury.".

So on the basis of your initial post I would say it wasn't RIDDOR reportable. If you clarify that the injured party got the pain in a muscle due to, say, something hit them, or them falling over, then it would be reportable.

Even if you don't report, it is always best practice to investigate.

thanks 2 users thanked CptBeaky for this useful post.
Kate on 12/08/2020(UTC), HSSnail on 12/08/2020(UTC)
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