An employee hurts their wrist at work and, after evaluation by a licensed healthcare professional on-site, receives an over-the-counter brace/splint. The letter writer asked whether the case is recordable in two scenarios: with the rigid or semi-rigid stays removed from the device, or with the stays left in.
OSHA answered that both scenarios are recordable. Under 29 CFR 1904.7(a), employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses that result in medical treatment beyond first aid. The recordkeeping rule treats non-rigid means of support — elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts — as first aid, but orthopedic devices with rigid stays or other systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are medical treatment (29 CFR 1904.7(b)(5)(ii)(F)).
Two points of OSHA's reasoning are worth noting. First, OSHA does not recognize a 'semi-rigid' category, since orthopedic devices function to immobilize body parts. Second, OSHA stated flatly that a splint will always be considered medical treatment, even if the splint is fabricated to fit the injured employee.
Even in the removed-stays scenario, the case stays recordable because the licensed healthcare professional's original recommendation of a brace/splint to immobilize the injury established it as medical treatment rather than first aid. OSHA cited its January 19, 2001 final recordkeeping rule and a November 28, 2017 interpretation letter on similar orthopedic device questions.