Type of Occurrence Classification System - Safe Work Australia

C. Selected Examples of Injury/Disease OccurrencesExample 5Repeated exposure to detergents resulted in the worker contractingirritant dermatitis on the hands and fingers.The nature of injury/disease, as described, is ‘Contact dermatitis’ (code 741).The bodily location injury/disease is ‘Hands, fingers and thumb - other and multiple’ (code468).Since the description of the occurrence indicates repeated exposure to a hazard, Rule 7should be referred to in determining the mechanism of incident. The appropriate mechanismof incident is, therefore, ‘Long term contact with chemicals or substances’ (code 62).The breakdown agency should be identified as ‘Detergents’ (code 5360). (Note that if thetype of detergent was known, a more specific code may have been appropriate.)The agency of injury/disease should be identified as ‘Detergents’ (code 5360).Example 6A delivery van struck a telephone pole, resulting in the driver’s left legbeing amputated at the knee.The nature of injury/disease is ‘Traumatic amputation’ (code 139).Since an amputation is referred to in the description of occurrence, Rule 6 should be appliedto determine the appropriate bodily location of injury. Therefore, the bodily location of injuryshould be identified as ‘Knee’ (code 530).The description of the occurrence indicates that the worker was injured in a vehicle incident.Therefore, the mechanism of incident is ‘Vehicle incident’ (code 92).The breakdown event should be identified as the loss of control of the vehicle, indicating thatthe appropriate category for the breakdown agency is ‘Cars, station wagons, vans, utilities’(code 2430).The agency of injury/disease should be identified as the direct cause of the most seriousinjury or disease. In this case the appropriate category is ‘Cars, station wagons, vans,utilities’ (code 2430).22 National Occupational Health and Safety Commission