Understand Safety Terms – Lost Time Injury

A lost time injury (LTI) is a work-related injury or illness that results in an individual being unable to work a subsequent work day or shift.

Example: An employee was injured on the job on Wednesday. He was scheduled to work Thursdays and Fridays at regular hours and Saturdays overtime. He was ordered to stop working until Monday, which he did. This is wasted time lost. The employee missed three scheduled work days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and all three days are counted as lost work days for this case.

A restricted work condition (RWC) is a work-related injury or illness that results in a limitation on work activity that prevents an individual from performing any task of his/her normal job from doing all work for any part of the day.

Example: An employee’s normal job requires frequent lifting and other manual labor duties. He is injured and restricted to lifting no more than 5 kilograms. Many of the items raised in his job usually exceed this limit. The employee is temporarily assigned to another department because work in that area does not involve a raise. Another employee is assigned to do the work of the injured employee. This is a restricted employment situation because the employee has been transferred to another job.

A medical treatment case (MTC) is a work-related injury or illness that warrants medication, treatment, or a medical examination that is usually administered by a health care professional and goes beyond a first aid case. The case of medical treatment does not entail a loss of work time after the date of the injury.

Example: An employee has a torn arm after coming into contact with a sharp edge. The plant nurse applies sterile strips to the wound. This condition is recordable because applying sterile tapes as a wound closure is a medical treatment by definition.

A first aid condition (FAC) is a minor work-related injury or illness that requires only minor treatment and does not require follow-up treatment by a healthcare professional. A first aid case does not result in lost time from work or work constraints.

Band aid. That is, one-time treatment and subsequent observation of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters, etc., which usually do not require medical attention. This treatment and monitoring is considered first aid even though it should be provided by a healthcare professional.