Accident
An unplanned event that results in injury, ill health or damage. Reporting rules in each jurisdiction define when an accident is reportable, using their own trigger criteria.
By jurisdiction
UK HSE
“accident”Close equivalentHSE uses accident to mean an unintended, unplanned event that results in injury or ill health to a person. RIDDOR 2013 specifies which accidents must be reported. HSE guidance distinguishes accident (resulting in harm) from near miss (no harm but potential).
Irish HSA
“accident”Close equivalentThe Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 section 8 refers to accidents as events causing personal injury. The IR1 notification form is used for reportable accidents.
US OSHA
“accident”Close equivalentOSHA uses incident as the broader term for recordkeeping purposes. An accident in common use corresponds to a work-related injury or illness under 29 CFR 1904.
Note: Do not equate accident with incident. The terms have different scopes in professional and statutory use.
Practitioner note: Reportable is not the same as recordable. Each framework sets its own trigger — RIDDOR in GB, the IR1 in Ireland, the OSHA 300 log in the US — so check the local threshold before concluding an accident needs no report.