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BARC strictly . The UW Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) tracks and investigates work-related incidents to help prevent injuries and to maintain safe and healthy workplaces. Injury reporting is required by federal, state, and funding agencies to help the University meet its compliance responsibilities. To report an injury, please follow the procedure below by UW EHS Incident Reporting procedure.
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 exposure 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.
- For example, if a worker tripped while walking but was not injured, this would be considered a near-miss event.
- 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.