RIDDOR Report After an Accident at Work: Who Reports It and Why It Matters

What Is a RIDDOR Report?

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it is the law that requires employers, and other people in charge of work premises, to report and keep records of work-related deaths, work-related injuries, diagnosed cases of reportable occupational diseases and certain dangerous occurrences. Its purpose is to tell the enforcing authority (HSE or the local authority) that an accident has happened so that it can respond to ensure compliance with health and safety law.

It is a regulatory notification. It is not a claim for compensation, and making or not making a report does not start or stop any claim. For the claims side, see our guide to accident at work claims.

Who Has to Report?

Regulation 3 of RIDDOR 2013 defines the “responsible person”. For an injury to an employee, that is the employee’s employer. For a person who is not at work, or a self-employed person, it is the person who was in control of the premises at the time. HSE’s guidance adds that an injured person should not use the reporting system unless they are self-employed, and that members of the public should not use it either. Workers or members of the public who are worried about a risk can instead tell HSE about a health and safety issue.

Which Injuries Must Be Reported?

Under Regulation 4, where a person at work suffers an injury as a result of a work-related accident, the following must be reported:

• Specified injuries, including a bone fracture diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner (other than to a finger, thumb or toe), amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe, injuries likely to cause permanent blinding or reduced sight, serious crush injuries to the head or torso, burns covering more than 10% of the body or causing significant damage to the eyes or vital organs, scalping requiring hospital treatment, and loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia.
• Over-seven-day injuries, where the person is incapacitated for routine work for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident). The report must be sent as soon as practicable and in any event within 15 days of the accident.

Deaths and certain injuries to non-workers (for example customers taken directly to hospital) are covered by other regulations. HSE also separates reportable accidents from gradual harm: it says cumulative exposures, such as repetitive lifting, are not classed as “accidents” under RIDDOR, although diagnosed occupational diseases have their own reporting categories. Our pages on industrial disease claims explain how those claims work.

Is a Report Only Made if Someone Was at Fault?

No. HSE states that deciding whether an accident is reportable does not depend on finding blame, and that an accident can be reportable even if there was no breach of health and safety law and no one was clearly to blame. It must be “work related”, meaning it arose out of or in connection with work, for example through how the work was organised or carried out, the machinery or equipment used, or the condition of the workplace. An accident that merely happens at work premises is not automatically work related.

This means a RIDDOR report is not, on its own, an admission of liability, and a missing report does not on its own prove there was no fault. Whether someone is legally responsible for your injury is a separate question that turns on the facts.

What Records Must the Employer Keep?

Regulation 12 requires the responsible person to keep a record of reportable incidents, and also of injuries that incapacitate a person for routine work for more than three consecutive days. Entries must be kept for at least three years from the date they were made. The record is kept at the place where the work is carried on or at the responsible person’s usual place of business.

How a RIDDOR Report Can Help a Compensation Claim

If you later bring a claim, the report and the employer’s accident records can be useful evidence of the date, place and circumstances of the accident, alongside other material such as photographs, witness details and medical records. Our evidence guide and evidence checklist explain what else to gather. A solicitor can request the relevant records from your employer.

Two practical points follow. First, the three-year record-keeping period lines up with the usual three-year court deadline for injury claims in England and Wales, so do not assume records will exist indefinitely: see personal injury claim deadlines. Second, if you are not sure your accident was reported, ask your employer in writing and take advice early.

What Should You Do After a Workplace Injury?

• Get medical attention and make sure the injury is recorded in the workplace accident book.
• Ask your employer whether the accident is reportable under RIDDOR and keep a copy of any response.
• Note the dates you were off work, as the seven-day and three-day thresholds count days of incapacity for routine work.
• Keep photographs, witness names and medical records.
• Seek advice on any claim before the deadline. Contact EA Personal Injury Solicitors for a free initial enquiry.

Sources

This page is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 16 October 2026 and is not advice on any individual case. It is based on:

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, regulation 3 (responsible person), legislation.gov.uk
• RIDDOR 2013, regulation 4 (non-fatal injuries to workers), legislation.gov.uk
• RIDDOR 2013, regulation 12 (recording and record-keeping), legislation.gov.uk
• RIDDOR explained, Health and Safety Executive
• RIDDOR: reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences, Health and Safety Executive