1.3 The six criteria and the closed first aid list

1 Six outcomes, any one of which records the case

1904.7(a) is short. A work-related injury or illness meets the general recording criteria if it results in any of: death; days away from work; restricted work or transfer to another job; medical treatment beyond first aid; loss of consciousness; or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

Two of them deserve a note now. Loss of consciousness is recordable however brief — 1904.7(b)(6) says so in one sentence, and it means a worker who blacks out for three seconds in the heat and returns to work produces a recordable case. And the significant diagnosis criterion in (b)(7) catches conditions that produce no treatment and no lost time at the moment of diagnosis: the rule names four that must always be recorded at the time of diagnosis — cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fractured or cracked bone, and a punctured eardrum.

2 Medical treatment, defined by exclusion

1904.7(b)(5)(i) defines medical treatment as the management and care of a patient to combat disease or disorder, and then excludes three things: visits to a health care professional solely for observation or counseling; diagnostic procedures including prescription medications used solely for diagnostic purposes; and first aid, as defined in the section.

That third exclusion is the operative one, and it is where the fourteen-item list comes in. The list is not a set of examples. 1904.7(b)(5)(iii) asks the question directly — “Are any other procedures included in first aid?” — and answers: “No, this is a complete list of all treatments considered first aid for part 1904 purposes.”

3 Two rules that settle most arguments

The first is 1904.7(b)(5)(iv): the professional status of the person providing the treatment changes nothing. A physician applying a cold pack is still doing first aid; a supervisor handing out a prescription-strength medication is still administering medical treatment. This kills the “but a doctor did it” argument and the “but it was only the site first-aider” argument in the same breath.

The second is (b)(5)(v): if a health care professional recommends medical treatment and the employee does not follow the recommendation, you must record the case anyway — and you should encourage the employee to follow it. The same structure appears for days away in (b)(3)(ii) and for restrictions in (b)(4)(viii). Recordkeeping follows the medical recommendation, not the employee's compliance with it.

4 The specific case types, and what they change

Four sections handle case types where the general criteria alone would give the wrong answer. Each one is short and each one overrides.

The hearing loss rule has a useful practical clause. 1904.10(b)(4) lets you retest within 30 days; if the retest does not confirm the shift, nothing is recorded, and if it does, you have seven calendar days from the retest.

5 Working the call, in order

1. 1
   Ask what was actually done to the person — not where they went or who saw them.
2. 2
   Check the treatment against the fourteen-item list. On the list, first aid. Not on the list, medical treatment.
3. 3
   Check the outcome separately: any days away, any restriction beyond the day of injury, any loss of consciousness, any significant diagnosis.
4. 4
   Check whether one of 1904.8 to 1904.11 applies and overrides.
5. 5
   If any test comes out yes, the case is recordable. Write down which one and why.

6 The case everybody under-records

It is the one that ends with stitches, a prescription or a course of physical therapy, and nobody missing a shift. No days away, no restriction, no drama. On the 300A it belongs in column J, other recordable cases, and column J is the emptiest box on most summaries that have been kept carelessly.