29 CFR 1904.39: Reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye as a result of work-related incidents to OSHA
The official text is on the eCFR. This page maps how the section is organized, quotes the paragraphs our ASP, CHST, CSP practice questions are built on, and gives free questions you can try. Text below is quoted from the eCFR, current as of 2026-10-14; the section was last amended 2017-01-01.
How 29 CFR 1904.39 is organized
- (a) Basic requirement6 paragraphs
- (b)19 paragraphs
Paragraphs our practice questions cite most
Counted across the 26 live PassCited questions built on this section. This reflects our question bank, not the real exam.
“(10) Do I have to report an in-patient hospitalization that involves only observation or diagnostic testing? No, you do not have to report an in-patient hospitalization that involves only observation or diagnostic testing. You must only report to OSHA each in-patient hospitalization that involves care or treatment.”
“(11) How does OSHA define “amputation”? An amputation is the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part. Amputations include a part, such as a limb or appendage, that has been severed, cut off, amputated (either completely or partially); fingertip amputations with or without bone loss; medical amputations resulting from irreparable damage; amputations of body parts that have since been reattached. Amputations do not include avulsions, enucleations, deglovings, scalpings, severed ears, or broken or chipped teeth.”
“(3) Do I have to report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye if it resulted from a motor vehicle accident on a public street or highway? If the motor vehicle accident occurred in a construction work zone, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye. If the motor vehicle accident occurred on a public street or highway, but not in a construction work zone, you do not have to report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA. However, the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputa…”
“(b) Implementation—(1) If the Area Office is closed, may I report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye by leaving a message on OSHA's answering machine, faxing the Area Office, or sending an email? No, if the Area Office is closed, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using either the 800 number or the reporting application located on OSHA's public Web site at www.osha.gov.”
“(4) Do I have to report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye if it occurred on a commercial or public transportation system? No, you do not have to report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA if it occurred on a commercial or public transportation system (e.g., airplane, train, subway, or bus). However, the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye must be recorded on your OSHA injury and illness records, if you are required to keep such records.”
Free practice questions on 29 CFR 1904.39
Question 1
A utility contractor's employee suffers an amputation at 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday. The supervisor knows the OSHA Area Office is closed and proposes leaving a voicemail on the office answering machine, faxing the office, or emailing it. Which method is acceptable under the rule?
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Answer: C. Report using the 800 number or the reporting application on OSHA's public Web site
When the Area Office is closed, the employer must use either the 800 number or the online reporting application. Voicemail, fax, and email are not acceptable ways to make the report.
Answer C rests on
29 CFR 1904.39(b)(1)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“No, if the Area Office is closed, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using either the 800 number or the reporting application located on OSHA's public Web site at www.osha.gov.”
Question 2
A laborer on a framing crew is taken to a hospital after a fall from a ladder. He is admitted overnight only so that physicians can watch for delayed symptoms and run imaging scans. No treatment is given, and he is released the next morning. The safety technician is deciding whether this admission triggers a report to OSHA as an in-patient hospitalization. What is required?
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Answer: A. No report is required for this admission, because it involved only observation or diagnostic testing
The standard says an in-patient hospitalization involving only observation or diagnostic testing does not have to be reported; only hospitalizations involving care or treatment must be. The overnight stay alone, or the lost time afterward, does not change that.
Answer A rests on
29 CFR 1904.39(b)(10)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“No, you do not have to report an in-patient hospitalization that involves only observation or diagnostic testing. You must only report to OSHA each in-patient hospitalization that involves care or treatment.”
Question 3
A flagger employed by a highway paving contractor is struck by a passing car inside a marked construction work zone on a public highway and is admitted to the hospital as an in-patient. The contractor's safety manager must decide whether the event goes to OSHA. What is required?
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Answer: C. The in-patient hospitalization must be reported to OSHA because the crash occurred in a construction work zone
The standard makes motor vehicle crashes on public roads reportable when they occur in a construction work zone. The motor vehicle exception applies only outside a work zone, so the public-highway location does not exempt this event.
Answer C rests on
29 CFR 1904.39(b)(3)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“If the motor vehicle accident occurred in a construction work zone, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.”
Question 4
At 6:00 a.m. on a Wednesday, a laborer on your site is struck by a swinging excavator bucket and taken to a hospital. He is formally admitted as an in-patient at 9:00 a.m. that day. He is alive, and no amputation or loss of an eye occurred. Counting from the right event, what is the latest time you can make the required report to OSHA?
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Answer: B. 9:00 a.m. Thursday, which is 24 hours after the in-patient hospitalization
The employee was hospitalized as an in-patient and did not die, so the 24-hour deadline applies. That clock runs from the in-patient hospitalization, not from the incident, which puts the deadline at 9:00 a.m. Thursday. The 8-hour limit is for fatalities only.
Answer B rests on
29 CFR 1904.39(a)(2)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“(2) Within twenty-four (24) hours after the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees or an employee's amputation or an employee's loss of an eye, as a result of a work-related incident, you must report the in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA.”
Question 5
At 6:15 p.m. on a Friday, an ironworker on your project suffers a work-related amputation and is taken to the hospital. The nearest OSHA Area Office is already closed. The site manager left a voicemail on the Area Office's answering machine and emailed the Area Office. Both included the establishment name, the incident location, and the time of the incident. The manager says the report is complete. What is the correct assessment?
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Answer: C. The report is not yet made; the company must still report by calling the 1-800-321-OSHA number or by using the reporting application on OSHA's public Web site.
When the Area Office is closed, a message on its answering machine, a fax, or an email does not count as reporting. The company must use the 800 number or the online reporting application, so the manager's contact details do not satisfy the requirement. Waiting for the office to reopen is wrong because the standard gives after-hours methods that can be used right away.
Answer C rests on
29 CFR 1904.39(b)(1)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“No, if the Area Office is closed, you must report the fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye using either the 800 number or the reporting application located on OSHA's public Web site at www.osha.gov.”
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