Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
Introduction
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95) apply to all work activities in
Great Britain, including the offshore oil and gas industry,
but they do not apply to all incidents.
RIDDOR requires employers, the self-employed, or anyone in
control of work premises, to report specified work-related
accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences, and to keep a
record of the details.
These reports enable the Health and Safety Executive and local
authorities to identify where and how risks arise, to show up
trends, and to investigate serious accidents.
Under RIDDOR, the following work-related events must be reported
to the enforcing authority in writing:
a death
a major injury to a person at work
an injury to a member of the public if taken to hospital
a major injury to a member of the public as a result of an accident at a hospital
a dangerous occurrence
an over-three-day injury
a diagnosed work-related disease.
In the case of the first five events, the enforcing authority
must first be notified by the quickest practicable means eg.
telephone.
Within 10 days a completed accident report form must follow.
A record of each reported incident must be kept for inspection by
visiting inspectors.
Reportable Incidents
Whenever any of the following events arises out of or in connection
with work, it must be reported to the enforcing authority in writing
and a record kept ...
the death of any person as a result of an accident (including as
a result of physical violence), whether or not they are at work;
the enforcing authority must first be notified by the quickest
practicable means;
someone who is at work suffers a major injury as a result of an
accident (including physical violence); the enforcing authority
must first be notified by the quickest practicable means;
someone who is not at work (for example, a member of the public)
suffers an injury as a result of an accident and is taken to a
hospital for treatment; the enforcing authority must first be
notified by the quickest practicable means;
someone who is not at work (eg. a member of the public) suffers
a major injury as a result of an accident which happens at a
hospital; the enforcing authority must first be notified by the
quickest practicable means;
one of a list of specified dangerous occurrences takes place.
Dangerous occurrences are events which do not result in a
reportable injury, but have the potential to do significant harm;
the enforcing authority must first be notified by the quickest
practicable means;
someone at work is unable to do their normal work for more than
3 consecutive days (ie. is incapacitated for at least 4 days) as
a result of an injury caused by an accident at work (including
physical violence);
the death of an employee if this occurs some time after
a reportable injury which led to that employee's death,
but not more than one year afterwards;
and finally, an employee who suffers from a reportable
work-related disease, provided that the disease has
been diagnosed by a doctor.
In addition, the regulations require that a report be made
in the following circumstances:
a conveyor of flammable gas through a fixed pipe
distribution system or the filler, importer or
supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in a
refillable container, must report if they learn
that someone had died or suffered a major injury
arising out of, or in connection with, that gas
unless the death or injury has already been
reported as an accident connected with work;
and any registered installation business must
report if it finds that there is in any premises
a gas fitting or associated flue or ventilation
arrangement which could be considered dangerous.
Accidents involving vehicles moving on public roads are not
reportable unless they involve or are connected with:
exposure to any substance being conveyed by road;
vehicle loading and unloading activities such as
those engaged in by refuse collectors, brewery
delivery workers, furniture removers etc;
the construction, demolition, alteration, repair
or maintenance activities on or alongside public
roads;
or an accident involving a train where a person
is killed or injured.
Dangerous occurrences on public highways are covered by the
Regulations, and so too are accidents and dangerous occurrences
on private roads (ie. those not covered by the Road Traffic Act
1988).
Reportable dangerous occurrences involving the transport of
dangerous goods by road include:
a road tanker overturning
serious damage to the tank carrying the dangerous substance
uncontrolled escape of the dangerous substance
and a fire involving the dangerous substance.
In such cases the person who must notify and make a report to
the enforcing authority is the operator of the vehicle.
RIDDOR also applies to offshore oil and gas
installations.
Offshore workers are commonly accommodated
offshore in between their work shifts.
Injuries to offshore workers while off-shift
are reportable in the same way as injuries
during work shifts, as long as the injury
results from an accident connected with work.
Notification & Reporting
The duty to notify and report incidents rests with the
`responsible person'.
The responsible person may be the employer of an injured
person, a self-employed person, or someone in control of
premises where work is carried out.
This will depend on the circumstances, and on who dies
or suffers a reportable injury or disease.
For the most serious incidents, the responsible person
must notify the enforcing authority by the quickest
practicable means, eg. by telephone.
It is advisable to keep a note of telephone notifications,
including the time, the name of the caller and the details
that were given of the event being notified.
However, in ALL cases of death, injury or dangerous occurrence,
the responsible person must, within 10 days of the accident,
make a report on an approved form to the Health and Safety
Executive.
The approved form for reporting a death, injury or dangerous
occurrence is Form F2508.
The approved form for reporting a death, injury or dangerous
occurrence at an offshore installation is Form OIR/9B.
Forms may be filled in on-line by logging on to www.riddor.gov.uk
Reports from anywhere in the country may be reported
to the HSE's Incident Contact Centre at Caerphilly.
To report by telephone, call 0845 300 9923 Monday to
Friday between 08:30 and 17:00.
The fax number is 0845 300 9924.
For internet reports go to www.riddor.gov.uk or link
in via the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk
Emails may be sent to riddor natbrit.com
Postal reports should be sent to the:
Incident Contact Centre,
Caerphilly Business Park,
Caerphilly,
CF83 3GG
Reporting a Fatality
If an employee or self-employed person is killed at work, the
enforcing authority must be notified immediately, and within ten
days a completed accident report form must be submitted.
In most cases the death will occur at the time of an accident or
within a few days.
However, if an employee dies after some delay as a result of an
injury (or condition) suffered at work, the enforcing authority
must be informed in writing about the death provided it occurred
within one year of the original incident. This must be done
whether or not the original injury or condition had been reported.
This requirement only applies to employees. The death of a member
of the public who subsequently dies as a result of an injury caused
by an accident arising out of or in connection with work, is not
reportable.
Reporting Cases of Disease
Employers and self-employed persons must report cases of
certain diseases which are linked with specified work
activities and, in the case of offshore workers, certain
other diseases.
The reportable diseases and corresponding work activities
are set out in Part I of Schedule 3.
Those diseases additionally reportable in respect of off-
shore workplaces are set out in Part II of Schedule 3.
The responsible person must make a report if:
they receive, in respect of an employee, a
written diagnosis made out by a doctor of
one of the occupational diseases listed in
column 1 of Schedule 3 (Part I), and
the ill employee's current job involves the
corresponding work activity specified in
column 2 of Schedule 3 (Part I).
In addition, where the employee was at an offshore
workplace, an employer must also make a report if
they receive, in respect of an employee, a written
diagnosis of one of the diseases listed in Part II
of Schedule 3, made out by a doctor.
Self-employed persons do not need a written statement from
their doctor. For self-employed persons, a verbal diagnosis of
the disease listed in Schedule 3 is all that is required, in
which case they (or someone on their behalf) must report it.
The approved form for reporting cases of disease is form F2508A.
The form may be filled in on-line by logging on to www.riddor.gov.uk.
Reporting Gas Incidents
Any person responsible for conveying, filling, importing or
supplying flammable gas who receives notification of a flammable
gas incident causing a death or a major injury shall, within 14
days, make a report to the HSE Area Office on report form F2508G.
In the case of a reportable incident involving LPG in a refillable
container, the person who must make a report to the HSE will be
any of the following who received the notification:
if the container was filled abroad, the importer of the gas-
filled container, if it was of foreign origin; or
the filler of the container; or
the wholesaler or other supplier (but not the retailer) of
the gas-filled container.
An employer or self-employed person employed as a registered gas
installer who decides that a gas fitting or associated flue or
ventilation arrangement is or has been likely to result in death
or major injury, by reason of
an accidental leakage of the gas; or
inadequate combustion of the gas; or
inadequate removal of the products of combustion of the gas;
must, within 14 days, make a report to the HSE Area Office using
report form F2508G.
In any circumstances where the gas installer considers it necessary
to disconnect any part of the installation to avert danger, a report
would normally be required.
These are the kinds of fault which, if likely to cause death or a
major injury, would be reportable under the regulations:
a dangerous gas leak;
a gas appliance which is spilling its products of combustion;
a gas appliance which shows clear signs of incomplete combustion;
a gas appliance which shows signs of combustion problems due to
inadequate provisions for ventilation;
a gas appliance not suitable for use with the gas supplied;
a gas appliance in use on which a safety device such as a flame-
failure device has been made inoperative;
an appliance which is connected to the gas supply by a flexible
connection made of an unsatisfactory material, eg. a garden hose;
and an appliance or installation which has become, or remains,
dangerous because of faulty servicing.
Making and Keeping Records
The responsible person is required to keep records of every injury,
dangerous occurrence and disease which must be reported.
In the case of an injury or dangerous occurrence, the details to be
included in each record are:
the date and time of the accident or dangerous occurrence;
in the event of an accident suffered by a person at work,
that persons full name, occupation and the nature of the
injury;
in the event of an accident suffered by a person NOT at
work, that persons full name, status (eg, passenger,
customer, visitor or bystander) and the nature of the injury;
the place where the accident or dangerous occurrence happened;
a brief description of the circumstances;
the date the event was first reported;
the method by which it was reported.
In the case of a specified reportable disease, the
details to be included in each record are:
the date of diagnosis of the disease;
the name of the person affected;
the occupation of the person affected;
the name or nature of the disease;
the date on which the disease was first reported;
the method by which it was reported.
The Regulations do not specify how records should
be made and kept, and employers are able to choose
arrangements which suit their own needs.
Records must be kept either where the work to which
they relate is carried out or at the usual place of
business of the responsible person.
Records of offshore incidents would normally be kept
at a suitable place onshore.