The facts
- A machinist catches a hand on a sheet-metal edge and opens a 3 cm laceration.
- The on-site clinic sends them to urgent care, where the wound is closed with four sutures.
- They return to their normal job the same afternoon with no restrictions and no days away.
The determination
Recordable
Recordable — the case meets the 1904.7(a) criterion: Medical treatment beyond first aid.
Criteria met
- • Medical treatment beyond first aid
Decision trail
- 01
Did an event or exposure in the work environment cause or contribute to the case?
Yes — presumed work-related, subject to the 1904.5(b)(2) exceptions.
29 CFR § 1904.5(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in § 1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.
- 02
Is this a new case?
Yes.
29 CFR § 1904.6(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be a “new case” if:
- 03
Does the case meet one or more of the general recording criteria in 1904.7(a)?
Yes — Medical treatment beyond first aid.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
29 CFR § 1904.7(b)(5)Not on the exhaustive first-aid list; only butterfly bandages and Steri-Strips are first aid — 1904.7(b)(5)(ii)(D).
Computed at build time by Job13’s engine from the facts above — not written by hand. Change the facts and re-run it yourself →
What is actually going on here — Job13's explanation
This is the single most common recordability question, and it has a clean answer: sutures are medical treatment, so the case goes on the 300 Log even though the employee lost no time and needed no restriction.
The reason is structural. OSHA does not define medical treatment by listing it — it lists first aid, completely, and everything else is medical treatment. Wound coverings are on that list; wound closure devices other than butterfly bandages and Steri-Strips are expressly not.
The number of sutures is irrelevant. One is enough. So is surgical glue, and so are staples.
The provisions this turns on
In the regulation's own words
(D) Using wound coverings such as bandages, Band-Aids TM , gauze pads, etc.; or using butterfly bandages or Steri-Strips TM (other wound closing devices such as sutures, staples, etc., are considered medical treatment);
(iii) Are any other procedures included in first aid? No, this is a complete list of all treatments considered first aid for part 1904 purposes.
Change one fact
If the same cut had been closed with a butterfly bandage
Butterfly bandages and Steri-Strips are named on the first-aid list, so an identical injury with a different closure is not recordable. The wound did not change; the treatment did.
The determination on those facts instead
Not recordable
Work-related, but it meets none of the 1904.7(a) recording criteria, so it is not recordable.
Decision trail
- 01
Did an event or exposure in the work environment cause or contribute to the case?
Yes — presumed work-related, subject to the 1904.5(b)(2) exceptions.
29 CFR § 1904.5(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in § 1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.
- 02
Is this a new case?
Yes.
29 CFR § 1904.6(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be a “new case” if:
- 03
Does the case meet one or more of the general recording criteria in 1904.7(a)?
No — the only treatment provided appears on the exhaustive first-aid list.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
29 CFR § 1904.7(b)(5)(iii)(iii) Are any other procedures included in first aid? No, this is a complete list of all treatments considered first aid for part 1904 purposes.
Your case is not this case
Scenarios are worked examples on stated facts. Small differences — who recommended the treatment, whether participation was voluntary, what the employee’s routine functions actually are — change the answer. Run your own facts, and the determination will show you which step decided it.
Check your case — freeNot legal advice. This page republishes 29 CFR Part 1904 as published by the eCFR and explains it. The recordkeeping duty is the employer’s. Where the rule requires judgement, Job13 says so rather than guessing — run your own case through the free check.