CHST Incident Investigation and Reporting 3

Question 1

Under OSHA 1904.39, within what timeframe must employers report an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA?

Accepted Answer

Within 24 hours of learning about the event

Answer

Within 8 hours

Answer

Within 72 hours

Answer

Within 3 business days

Question 2

What is the difference between an 'immediate cause' and a 'root cause' in incident investigation?

Accepted Answer

The immediate cause is the direct action or condition that triggered the incident; the root cause is the underlying systemic failure that allowed the immediate cause to exist

Answer

They are interchangeable terms for the same concept

Answer

The immediate cause refers only to victim actions; the root cause refers only to management failures

Answer

The immediate cause is the injury itself; the root cause is the hazardous condition

Question 3

Under OSHA 1904.7, which treatments are considered 'first aid' and therefore do NOT make an injury recordable?

Accepted Answer

Use of non-prescription medications at non-prescription strength, wound closure using butterfly bandages, use of elastic bandages, and irrigation of the eye with water

Answer

Sutures (stitches) applied by a physician

Answer

Prescription-strength medication provided by a doctor

Answer

X-rays taken to rule out a fracture

Question 4

The Haddon Matrix is a systematic tool used in incident investigation. What are its two analytical dimensions?

Accepted Answer

Host/Agent/Environment (columns) across Pre-event/Event/Post-event phases (rows) — creating a 3x3 grid to identify intervention opportunities at each phase

Answer

It uses two columns only: worker behavior and environmental conditions

Answer

It analyzes only immediate and root causes in two separate columns

Answer

It covers equipment, human, and procedural factors across design and operations phases

Question 5

Under OSHA's recordkeeping standard 1904.5, how is 'work-relatedness' determined for an injury or illness?

Accepted Answer

An injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the condition, or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition

Answer

Work-relatedness is determined solely by whether the worker was on the clock at the time of injury

Answer

An injury is work-related only if it occurred on the employer's physical premises

Answer

Workers' compensation board determinations govern OSHA work-relatedness

Question 6

What is the most critical output of an effective incident investigation, and why?

Accepted Answer

A corrective action plan with systemic remedies, assigned owners, and completion dates — because without meaningful systemic changes, incidents will recur

Answer

Completing the OSHA 300 Log entry within the required timeframe

Answer

Determining whether OSHA standards were violated so citations can be anticipated

Answer

Documenting witness statements for litigation purposes