Incident Reporting

STEP 1

Complete any immediate first aid/medical care measures.

STEP 2

Report the incident to your supervisor.

STEP 3

Submit an incident report to EH&S within 24 hours.*

Incidents that require immediate notification

*Notify EH&S immediately (after first aid/medical care) if the incident involves any of the following:

In-patient hospitalization, amputation, loss of an eye, or fatality
Recombinant/synthetic DNA/RNA exposure or spill
Radioactive material spill, exposure, accidental exposure from a radiation producing device or laser

During EH&S business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday) call (206) 543-7262.

Outside of EH&S business hours, call the UW Police Department at (206) 685-8973 to reach EH&S on-call staff.

EH&S is required to report any employee in-patient hospitalization or fatality to Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) within eight hours of the incident. Do not move any equipment involved in the incident until EH&S receives clearance from L&I.

All other types of incidents involving UW personnel must be reported via the Online Accident Reporting System (OARS) within 24 hours of the incident.

Reporting instructions

UW personnel are required to submit an incident report for any work-related event that results in an injury, illness, exposure, fire, property damage, or near-miss event. UW personnel have the option to submit an incident report for anyone who does not have a UW NetID and was injured in UW facilities or grounds.

Incidents may occur at University owned and operated locations, including field sites and any off-campus location where University business or academic activities are occurring.

Types of events to report

Exposure events are defined as contact with a chemical, biological, or radiological material through absorption (skin or eye), ingestion, inhalation, or injection. Workplace illnesses resulting from exposures to communicable diseases, regulated building materials, noise, and heat are also exposure-related events. Follow the EH&S exposure response procedures if potentially exposed to hazardous materials.
Fire events are defined as anything that includes flames and/or smoke, even if the fire goes out by itself.
Property damage-related events are defined as physical harm to UW property that could lead to repair or maintenance costs.
Near-miss events identify a potentially unsafe condition where no injury, exposure or property damage occurred.
1. For example, if a worker tripped while walking, but was not injured, this would be considered a near-miss event.
2. Near-misses are valuable opportunities to correct potential hazards, which could result in a serious injury.
Injury events are defined as any harm to a person, including minor harm, that may or may not require first aid (e.g., use of medication, band-aids, ice packs, etc.). Some injuries additionally require an immediate notification* to EH&S for reporting purposes.

Anyone with a UW NetID can report an incident using the University’s Online Accident Reporting System (OARS).

UW Medicine personnel and individuals working in UW Medicine facilities should use UW Medicine’s PSN system to report workplace incidents.

Assistance

For assistance with completing an incident report, contact EH&S at injury@uw.edu.

If you will be working at a location without internet access, download and save or print the Incident Report Form (PDF) prior to leaving internet service. Complete the PDF after an incident occurs and type the information into the UW’s Online Accident Reporting System when you return to internet service.

Responsibilities

In the event of a work-related injury, illness, exposure, fire, property damage, or near-miss incident, personnel must submit an incident report within 24 hours using the UW’s Online Accident Reporting System after taking any necessary first aid or medical care measures and reporting it to their supervisor. Some incidents require immediate notifications to EH&S, including admittance to a hospital, fatalities, loss of an eye, and amputations. EH&S recommends that UW personnel also report incidents involving visitors, students, volunteers, and the public.

EH&S subject matter experts review reports for the root cause and corrective actions and follows up as needed with the PI/supervisors or units/departments. EH&S redacts personally identifiable information from reports and sends each redacted report to the appropriate health and safety committee for review. EH&S tracks incident trends and emerging risks and addresses them with improved safety communications and resources that may include training, policy, programs, tools, and guidance.

University units and departments are responsible for posting the previous year’s OSHA 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses in the worksite where personnel can view it. Units and departments should encourage personnel to report safety concerns to their supervisor or EH&S, and require reporting of work-related injuries, illnesses, exposures, and near-miss events using the UW’s Online Accident Reporting System.

Download an Incident Reporting Poster and place it where personnel can view it as a reminder of the importance of timely reporting.

OSHA Recordable Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Incidents that are defined as “recordable” by the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) are added to the University's Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses in accordance with Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) requirements. An injury or illness is considered recordable if it results in medical treatment beyond first aid, including loss of consciousness, significant injury or illness as diagnosed by health care provider, restricted work or job transfer, days away from work, or death.

View the Incidence Rate Graph showing the annual incidence rates of recordable work-related injuries and illnesses at the University.

Download the OSHA 300A Summary for your work location

The recordable work-related injuries and illnesses for University of Washington locations are summarized below. The previous year’s OSHA 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is required to be posted every year from February 1 to April 30 in each worksite on safety bulletin boards for all University personnel to review.

Below are listed the OSHA 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses for all University of Washington locations.

Frequently asked questions

If you are a UW employee injured at work or believe you have a work-related illness, you can file a worker's compensation claim with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Completing an OARS report will not initiate a worker's compensation claim. This OARS reporting requirement is independent and separate from filing a workers' compensation claim for a work-related injury.
More information, instructions, and assistance regarding Workers’ Compensation is available at the UW Compliance and Risk Services website.

Workplace violence: Report workplace violence concerns or events to SafeCampus or call 206.685.SAFE.

Motor vehicle accidents: Visit the UW Facilities Transportation Services or the Tacoma Motor Pool website for specific procedures following a collision or vehicular accident involving a UW vehicle.

Building Concerns: Report facilities-related concerns to UW Facilities Care Team (careteam@uw.edu) or submit a work order using their online form.

Log on to the Online Accident Reporting System (OARS) with your UWNetID.
Click once on the menu item Create New Incident Report. The system can be slow to respond and doesn’t respond to double-clicks like most applications.
Page 1 - Person Involved: Select Supervisor if you are the supervisor of the person affected, select Self if you are the person affected, or select University Representative if you are reporting on behalf of another person (and you are not their supervisor).
- If you selected Supervisor or University Representative, you will be asked to identify the affected person. In the Person Involved or Affected section, these buttons will appear: Faculty/staff, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student, Contractor, Public, Volunteer
- If you select “Faculty/Staff” or “Graduate Student,” then click Select Involved.
- Enter the name or UWNetID of the person affected.
- Click Search UW Directory.
- Click on the button next to the person’s name and click Select Person at the bottom of the page.
- Click Select Supervisor and repeat the steps above.
- Click “Next” to continue.
Page 2 - Description: Enter the incident details.
- Select a date and time.
- Select a campus from the dropdown menu.
- Click Select to search a list of most known locations on each campus.
- Enter the building name or parking lot code in the Building/Parking Lot field.
- Click Search for Location.
- Click the button next to the location and click Select Location at the bottom of the list.

Tips:

When searching for Magnusson Health Sciences, enter “MAG” in the Building/Parking lot field (not to be confused with the new Health Sciences Education Building).
If you are unable to find the location in the list, click Back to Report and type the location in the Other field.

Add details of the incident in the Incident Details box.
Click Next.

5. Page 3 - Classification: Select the type of incident.

Select Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 by clicking the button next to the Level heading.
Select the best description of the incident type within the level you selected.
Select at least one item under Injury Description, Body Parts Affected, and Cause or Potential Cause of Injury/Damage.
Click “Next” to continue.

6. Page 4 – Details: Provide additional details and contributing factors

Complete the top of page 4 only if the injury or near miss involved a slip, trip, or fall.
In the Contributing Factors section, select at least one item from any of the four categories.
The Suggested Corrective Actions section is an opportunity for you to contribute suggestions regarding the root cause(s) of the incident and recommendations to improve workplace safety. This section is optional; however, it is an important step in helping prevent future incidents.

7. Click Save Progress and Submit Initial Report.

If any required fields were not completed, you’ll see a red error message.

Contact injury@uw.edu if you need assistance.

When the initial report is submitted, the affected person and supervisor will receive an email with the report attached. The supervisor will be asked to complete pages 5 and 6.

Log on to the Online Accident Reporting System (OARS) with your UWNetID.
Click once on the menu item Supervisors: Finish Reports Involving me as Supervisor.
Review the incident details in pages 1-4 before completing pages 5 and 6.
Enter your root cause analysis and recommendations/preventive measures on pages 5. (If you need a refresher on root cause analysis, refer the free online course “Five Whys Root Cause Analysis.”)
Click “Save Progress” and “Next”.
On the top left of page 6, enter a corrective action target date. Indicate that yes, you approve the investigative and corrective actions planned.
When corrective actions are complete (which may take days or weeks), return to the top right of page 6 to fill in the corrective action completion date (which cannot be in the future) and indicate yes, you confirm the action(s) are complete. You can make additional comments as needed.
Click “Save Progress” and “Submit Final Report.”

Use the Report a Concern form to report safety concerns to EH&S. A safety concern is a condition or situation that you believe could become unsafe, like a tree root sticking up through a sidewalk posing a trip hazard.

Use the Online Accident Reporting System (OARS) if someone trips on the tree root but is not injured, as this would be a near-miss event. If the person who tripped on the tree root was injured, you would still submit a report in OARS but clarify there was an injury. Submittals in OARS allow us to collect detailed information about the incident so we can route this information to responsible parties for further review and corrective actions. These additional details and the reviews help us improve workplaces safety and prevent future incidents.

The Report a Concern form can be submitted anonymously. Please don’t use the Report a Concern form to report a work-related injury, illness (including COVID-19), exposure, fire, property damage, or near miss.

Incident Reporting

If an incident occurs:

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

Incidents that require immediate notification

Reporting instructions

Types of events to report

Assistance

Responsibilities

OSHA Recordable Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Download the OSHA 300A Summary for your work location

Frequently asked questions

Contact

Environmental Health & Safety Contact

Incident Reporting

If an incident occurs:

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

Incidents that require immediate notification

Reporting instructions

Types of events to report

Assistance

Responsibilities

Personnel

Supervisors

Environmental Health & Safety

Health and safety committees

Units and departments

OSHA Recordable Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Download the OSHA 300A Summary for your work location

2022 OSHA 300A Recordable Injury/Illness Summaries

Frequently asked questions

How does incident reporting relate to Workers’ Compensation?

What other types of incidents have reporting requirements?

How do I submit an OARS report?

How do I add supervisor comments to an incident report?

Can I anonymously report safety concerns?

Contact

Environmental Health & Safety Contact