The facts
- A line worker develops wrist pain after a shift of repetitive assembly.
- The occupational health physician recommends ibuprofen at 800 mg three times daily — a dose only available on prescription, though the drug itself is sold over the counter.
- No restriction is imposed and no time is lost.
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)1904.7(b)(5)(ii)(A) treats a medication available in both forms as first aid only when used at non-prescription strength.
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 trap inside item (A) of the first-aid list. The list makes a non-prescription medication first aid only when it is used at non-prescription strength — and the same item says in terms that a professional's recommendation to use it at prescription strength is medical treatment.
So the question is never "can you buy it in a pharmacy?" It is "what dose did a licensed professional recommend?" Two employees taking the same tablet can produce two different determinations.
If the employee simply takes an over-the-counter dose from the first-aid kit on their own initiative, that is first aid and the case is not recordable on that basis.
The provisions this turns on
In the regulation's own words
(A) Using a non-prescription medication at nonprescription strength (for medications available in both prescription and non-prescription form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care professional to use a non-prescription medication at prescription strength is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes);
Change one fact
If they had taken a standard over-the-counter dose
At non-prescription strength the same drug is squarely on the first-aid list, and the case is not recordable on treatment alone.
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.