Give notice about occupational accident

The term accident refers to an extrinsic event occurring suddenly or unexpectedly, causing personal injury. In order for an accident to be considered an occupational accident, it must have occurred

• during working hours
• in the workplace

Notice must be given about all work-related fatal accidents, regardless of how these occurred. Notice must also be given for occupational accidents causing serious personal injury.

The term personal injury refers to both physical and mental injuries that may be life-threatening or cause permanent or long-term incapacity for work.

Examples of serious personal injury include

• head trauma or concussion with loss of consciousness or other serious consequences
• skeletal injuries, with the exception of simple cracks or fractures in fingers or toes
• internal injuries to organs, e.g. lungs, kidneys and spleen
• loss of limbs, amputation of all or part of body parts
• poisoning with a risk of permanent health damage, from inhalation, ingestion and skin exposure to gas or fluids
• loss of consciousness, e.g. from oxygen deprivation or head impact
• burns, frost damage, acid and chemical burns
• hypothermia

Serious personal injury can occur acutely, but also over time. Internal injuries, especially, may only become visible after some time. Always give notice about the occupational accident if you suspect it may lead to injuries or health damage later on. Examples of such accidents include

• electrocution
• violence in the workplace
• psychological strain
• exposure to harmful chemicals
• exposure to gas
• falls from a height
• pinching or crushing accidents

Not all accidents occurring in connection with work require a notice to the Labour Inspection Authority. Examples of accidents that do not require a notice to us include accidents that occur

• outside of working hours, e.g. en route to or from work
• in a social context, e.g. at a Christmas party

Contact our directory (select option 3) if you are not sure whether or not an accident requires a notice.

Even if not all accidents require a notice to us, employers have an obligation to register all injuries and accidents, and to report occupational injuries and illnesses to NAV.

Sometimes, employers must report occupational accidents and injuries to other bodies and not the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. Examples of such accidents and where to report include:

• Electrocution accidents must be reported to both the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (dsb.no).
• Accidents at sea must be reported to the Norwegian Maritime Authority (sdir.no).
• Accidents and dangerous situations occurring in connection with work on petroleum rigs, work on renewable energy production at sea or CO2 management must be reported to the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (havtil.no).
• Aviation accidents and incidents must be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (luftfartstilsynet.no).

Notify the Labour Inspection Authority by calling 73 19 97 00, select option 3, to report an occupational accident.

This line is open to receive notices on business days 08:00-15:00.

You must also notify the closest police authority via telephone. Call the police using telephone number 02800.

Before calling, be prepared to answer questions about the following:

• where the accident occurred – give as accurate an address as possible
• when the accident occurred
• who you are and what your role is – name, role and telephone number
• other relevant contact persons – names, roles and telephone numbers
• what happened and what the extent of the personal injury is
• which enterprise the injured person(s) work for – if you know
• other involved enterprises at the site of the accident – if you know

After you give notice to the Labour Inspection Authority and the police via telephone, you must confirm the notice in writing to the Labour Inspection Authority. Download and fill out our notification form:

• Download notification form – English (PDF)
• Download notification form – Norwegian (PDF)

If you can’t download or fill out the forms, please contact Signform via e-mail: info@signform.no

You can submit the notification form electronically using eDialog or regular mail.

Because the notification form contains personal data, you must not use e-mail.

Read more about how to use eDialog to submit letters and documents to the Labour Inspection Authority (Norwegian only).

You can also submit the notification form via regular mail. Our mailing address is:

Arbeidstilsynet
Postboks 4720 Torgarden
7468 Trondheim

Employers also have other obligations in connection with injuries or illnesses including:

• registering occupational injuries and illnesses (Norwegian only)
• giving notification to NAV in connection with injuries or illnesses that may entitle the worker to occupational injury coverage (nav.no)
• taking out occupational injuries insurance for all employees (Norwegian only)
• keep a register of workers who are exposed to harmful conditions (Norwegian only)

All physicians have an obligation to report work-related illnesses (Norwegian only), i.e. illnesses they believe are caused by the patient’s work or employment situation. Physicians do not have the same obligation to report work-related injuries, but we still encourage them to also report injuries.

Notifications of both illnesses and injuries are very important for our prevention work. We treat all reports confidentially.

Employers performing rock work have an obligation to notify the Labour Inspection Authority of any serious situations of danger that have occurred in the workplace. You must give notification as soon as possible, using the same telephone number and notification form.

The term situation of danger refers to a situation that could have led to an accident causing personal injury. In some cases, a situation of danger also includes

• violations of laws or regulations
• violations of the enterprise’s safety procedures
• inadequate internal safety procedures