Create Your Construction Incident Report

A construction incident report is a formal document that records the details of an incident on a construction site — including what happened, the project and site details, who was involved, the severity of injuries, OSHA recordability, PPE compliance, equipment involved, weather conditions, witness accounts, and root cause analysis. Construction safety is governed primarily by 29 CFR 1926 (Safety and Health Regulations for Construction), and the report serves as an official record for site safety programs, OSHA compliance, insurance claims, and workers' compensation filings. OSHA-recordable incidents must also be entered on the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days per 29 CFR 1904.29.

An incident is OSHA recordable under 29 CFR 1904.7 if it results in death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician. First-aid-only treatments are generally not recordable. OSHA recordable incidents must be entered on your OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days. Additionally, under 29 CFR 1904.39, employers must report fatalities within 8 hours and in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses within 24 hours. Construction has the highest volume of severe injury reports of any industry.

OSHA's Focus Four are the leading causes of construction fatalities: falls from height (regulated under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M, including 29 CFR 1926.501-503), struck-by incidents (falling objects, swinging loads, vehicles), caught-in/between (equipment, machinery, collapsing trenches regulated under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P, 29 CFR 1926.650-652), and electrocution (power lines, live circuits regulated under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart K). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, these four categories account for more than 60% of construction deaths annually, with falls alone representing over 35% of all construction fatalities.

While not legally required in every state, documenting PPE worn at the time of the incident is strongly recommended and may be required under your site-specific safety plan. Federal OSHA mandates specific PPE for construction workers under 29 CFR 1926.100 (head protection), 29 CFR 1926.102 (eye and face protection), and 29 CFR 1926.502 (fall protection equipment including harnesses, lanyards, and anchorage points). Documenting PPE compliance demonstrates whether the worker was following site safety requirements, helps identify whether PPE failure contributed to the injury, and provides evidence of your safety program's effectiveness during OSHA inspections or legal proceedings.

Enter the name of the contractor or subcontractor whose worker was involved in the incident. On multi-contractor job sites, this field is critical because OSHA's multi-employer citation policy (CPL 02-00-124) classifies employers into four categories: the controlling employer (general oversight of the site), the creating employer (caused the hazard), the exposing employer (whose workers are exposed to the hazard), and the correcting employer (responsible for correcting the hazard). Each category carries distinct safety obligations and potential citation liability. Documenting which contractor was involved and their role helps establish these relationships. If the incident involved the general contractor's own employee, you can leave this field blank or enter your company name.