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    First Aid Case

    Definition

    An injury or illness treated only with measures on OSHA's first aid list, which alone does not make a case recordable under 29 CFR 1904.7.

    Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/first-aid-case

    Scope: For US OSHA recordkeeping, check the specific first-aid list and all other recording criteria before classifying the case.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    What OSHA's recording rule says about first aid

    A first aid case is one where the injury or illness received only treatment that section 1904.7 classes as first aid. Recordable outcomes under the section are death, days away from work, work restriction or job transfer, care beyond first aid, any loss of consciousness and a significant diagnosed injury or illness. Medical treatment is the management and care of a patient to combat disease or disorder, and it does not include visits solely for observation or counselling, diagnostic procedures, or first aid. A case treated only with first aid therefore does not meet the medical-treatment criterion, though another criterion can still apply to the same case.

    The section gives a list of first aid treatments, lettered A to N, and says it is a complete list for the purposes of the recordkeeping rule. In short form, it covers non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength, tetanus immunisation, cleaning, flushing or soaking a surface wound, bandages and other wound coverings, heat or cold applied to the injury, non-rigid supports, temporary immobilisation while transporting a victim, draining a blister or drilling a nail to relieve pressure, eye patches, removing a foreign body from the eye by irrigation or swab, removing splinters by simple means, finger guards, massage and drinking fluids for relief of heat stress. Sutures are not on it, and physical therapy is not first aid.

    The section adds that OSHA treats the listed measures as first aid whatever the professional status of the person giving them, and that treatment beyond first aid is medical treatment whoever gives it. Under 1904.29, a recordable case goes on the log and the incident report within seven calendar days. OSHA's recordkeeping page describes recording as one of three components, with reporting of fatalities and severe injuries and annual electronic submission, and it links a flowchart for recording work-related injuries and illnesses and a set of frequently asked questions that a site can use as a check. This page is general information on US rules, not legal advice, and OSHA's own pages govern.

    Sources opened :

    What a first aid record set looks like in software

    • The event, date, person, body part and what happened, entered for every case including those that need only first aid.
    • Each treatment given, with the time, the person giving it and a field that maps the treatment to the list.
    • A recorded decision on whether the case needs a recordkeeping review, with the outcome.
    • Medication details, including whether it was non-prescription or prescription and the strength.
    • Any later change: days away, restricted work, loss of consciousness or a referral, each with its date.
    • The link to the incident record and, where the case becomes recordable, to the log entry and its entry date.
    • Stock and expiry checks for first aid supplies, kept apart from the case record.

    First aid, medical treatment and a recordable case

    First aid is a defined list, medical treatment is anything beyond it, and a recordable case is one that meets a recording criterion. A case can contain first aid and still be recordable if another criterion applies, and a case that needs medical treatment is recordable on that ground. Everyday usage also calls any quick care first aid, which is wider than the rule. Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress is on the list, which links this term to heat records. Provision of first aid supplies and trained first aiders is a separate subject from classifying a case.

    A hypothetical example: eleven minor events in a week

    This case is invented to illustrate the record and describes no real site. A warehouse logs 11 minor events in a week. Six were treated with listed measures only, such as a bandage, a cold pack, an eye patch and cleaning a graze, and nothing else applies. One was treated with first aid and the worker then missed 2 days, so it is recordable because of the days away. Three involved a physician recommending a non-prescription drug at prescription strength, which is medical treatment, and one involved loss of consciousness. That makes 6 plus 1 plus 3 plus 1, or 11 events.

    Five of the eleven are recordable and six are not, so about 55 per cent were first aid cases that stayed off the log. The record shows for each event the treatment, the criterion checked and the reviewer, and the reviewer writes the criterion checked against each of the six first aid events so that the reason is visible later. The seven-calendar-day clock is started for the five recordable cases from the day the warehouse learned each qualified.

    Common misunderstandings about first aid cases

    • First aid is not anything done quickly. The rule uses a lettered list of measures.
    • A first aid case is not always unrecorded. Days away, restricted work, loss of consciousness or other criteria can still apply to it.
    • A medicine is not first aid at every strength. A recommendation to take an over-the-counter drug at prescription strength is medical treatment.
    • A doctor's involvement does not decide it by itself. OSHA treats the listed measures as first aid whoever gives them.
    • Massage is first aid but physical therapy is not. The distinction is in the list.

    How a first aid case relates to other glossary terms

    The first aid line sits at the edge of the recording rule.

    • OSHA 300: the log that a first aid case stays off unless another criterion applies.
    • Recordable incident: the full set of recording criteria and exceptions.
    • Near miss: an event with no injury, which is not a first aid case.
    • PPE: equipment such as eye protection that can prevent the injuries first aid treats.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for first aid cases

    • The first aid log or incident entries with treatments given.
    • Notes of the criterion check for each case.
    • Records of any later days away or restriction.
    • Medication and strength records where a drug was given.
    • Links to the OSHA 300 entry for cases that became recordable.
    • Supply checks and first aider training records.

    What a software tool needs to capture for first aid cases

    • A treatment picker that maps each entry to a first aid list item or to medical treatment.
    • A review prompt when a case also shows days away, restriction or loss of consciousness.
    • A medication field that records prescription status and strength.
    • Case reclassification with history, so the first decision stays visible.
    • A link to the log entry and the seven-day entry date.
    • Separate stock and expiry tracking for supplies.

    Catalog profiles documenting first aid and injury management

    The list comes from the first aid management rule. It does not show that a product holds the OSHA first aid list or applies the recording criteria, which should be tested with sample cases.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Incident Management”, “Audits & Inspections”, “Safety Management”, “EHS Management”, “Construction Safety”, “Occupational Health”, “Quality Management” or “Safety Observation”, with a sourced first aid records, first-aider certification or first aid equipment capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Ordered by how closely our sources document this process, not by quality. Sponsored placements are labelled. How lists are ordered

    All 6 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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    Frequently asked questions

    Is a first aid case recordable?

    Not on that ground alone. OSHA's 1904.7 makes medical treatment beyond first aid a recording criterion, but days away, restricted work or loss of consciousness can still make the case recordable.

    Who decides what counts as first aid?

    OSHA's list, lettered A to N, defines it for recordkeeping. OSHA treats the listed measures as first aid whatever the professional status of the person giving them.

    Is a stronger medicine still first aid?

    A non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength is on the list. A recommendation to use it at prescription strength is medical treatment.

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