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Accident reporting and RIDDOR questions for the CSCS test

7 free questions on Accident reporting and RIDDOR, from section A. Working environment. Every question is original and explains why each option is right or wrong.

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Question 1

Medium · choose 2 ·Link to this question (question 1)

Several accidents happen on site over one month. Some of them must be reported to HSE under RIDDOR, the law on reporting serious accidents at work.

Which two must be reported? (Choose two.)

Choose two answers.

  1. A. A joiner hurts their back and is off work for 10 days in a row
  2. B. A bricklayer breaks a toe and is back at work the next day
  3. C. An electrician gets a small cut that is cleaned and covered
  4. D. A worker feels faint on a hot day and sits down for a while
  5. E. A labourer breaks an arm after falling from a trestle
Show the answer and explanation

Answers: A, E

  • A. Right: Right. An injury that keeps a worker off work, or off their normal duties, for more than seven days in a row must be reported within 15 days of the accident.
  • B. Wrong: Wrong. Broken fingers, thumbs and toes are not specified injuries. It would become reportable only if they were off normal work for more than seven days in a row.
  • C. Wrong: Wrong. A minor injury like this is not reportable under RIDDOR. It should still be recorded, for example in the accident book.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. Loss of consciousness is reportable only when caused by a head injury or lack of oxygen. Feeling faint from heat is not, though the worker should be looked after.
  • E. Right: Right. A broken bone is a "specified injury" under RIDDOR, unless it is a finger, thumb or toe. It must be reported without delay.

Explanation

RIDDOR covers deaths, specified injuries such as most broken bones, injuries that keep someone off normal work for more than seven days, some diseases and dangerous occurrences. Your employer makes the report.

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Question 2

Easier ·Link to this question (question 2)

A pallet of blocks slides off the forks of a telehandler and lands on a walkway. Nobody is hurt and nothing is damaged.

What should happen next?

Choose one answer.

  1. A. Restack the blocks and carry on, as the walkway is clear again
  2. B. Report it, so the cause can be found and put right
  3. C. Nothing, because nobody was hurt this time
  4. D. Report it only if it happens a second time
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B

  • A. Wrong: Wrong. Clearing up is needed, but it does not deal with why the load fell. The incident still needs to be reported to your supervisor.
  • B. Right: Right. This is a near miss: nobody was hurt this time, but someone could have been. Reporting it lets the site find the cause and stop it happening again.
  • C. Wrong: Wrong. Luck stopped anyone being hurt. The same fault could cause a serious injury next time, so it needs reporting.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. Waiting for it to happen again means someone could be hurt first. Report near misses every time.

Explanation

Report near misses as well as accidents. They show where the next accident could happen, so the cause can be fixed first.

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Question 3

Medium ·Link to this question (question 3)

A scaffolder falls and breaks a leg on a building site. The scaffolder is employed by a scaffolding firm, which is working for the main contractor.

Who has the legal duty to report this under RIDDOR?

Choose one answer.

  1. A. Any worker who saw it happen
  2. B. The hospital that treats the injury
  3. C. The scaffolder's employer
  4. D. The scaffolder, once out of hospital
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C

  • A. Wrong: Wrong. Witnesses should tell their supervisor and help with any investigation, but they do not make the RIDDOR report.
  • B. Wrong: Wrong. The hospital treats the injury but has no duty to report it under RIDDOR. That duty sits with the employer.
  • C. Right: Right. RIDDOR puts the duty on the "responsible person". For an injury to a worker, that is their employer.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. The injured person does not have the legal duty to report under RIDDOR. They should tell their employer what happened.

Explanation

Under RIDDOR, the employer of an injured worker is responsible for reporting the injury to HSE.

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Question 4

Medium ·Link to this question (question 4)

A bricklayer hurts their shoulder at work and is off work for nine days in a row.

By when must the injury be reported under RIDDOR?

Choose one answer.

  1. A. Only when the bricklayer comes back to work
  2. B. It doesn't need reporting, as nothing was broken
  3. C. Within 15 days of the accident
  4. D. Within 24 hours of the accident
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C

  • A. Wrong: Wrong. The deadline runs from the accident, not from the return to work.
  • B. Wrong: Wrong. Being off work for more than seven days in a row makes it reportable, whether or not anything was broken.
  • C. Right: Right. An injury that keeps a worker off normal work for more than seven days in a row must be reported within 15 days of the incident.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. There is no 24-hour deadline. Deaths and specified injuries must be notified without delay; over-7-day injuries within 15 days.

Explanation

Over-7-day injuries must be reported within 15 days. Deaths and specified injuries must be notified without delay.

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Question 5

Medium ·Link to this question (question 5)

Overnight, a large part of a 12-metre-high scaffold collapses. Nobody is on site and nobody is hurt.

Does it need reporting under RIDDOR?

Choose one answer.

  1. A. No, because nobody was injured
  2. B. No, because it happened outside working hours
  3. C. Only if the scaffold firm agrees to report it
  4. D. Yes, it is a dangerous occurrence
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D

  • A. Wrong: Wrong. Dangerous occurrences are reportable even when nobody is hurt, because next time someone could be.
  • B. Wrong: Wrong. The time of the collapse does not change the duty to report it.
  • C. Wrong: Wrong. It is a legal duty for the person in control of the site, not a choice.
  • D. Right: Right. The collapse of a substantial part of a scaffold more than 5 metres high is a reportable dangerous occurrence, even if no one is hurt.

Explanation

Some near misses are serious enough to be reported under RIDDOR as dangerous occurrences, such as a scaffold over 5 metres collapsing.

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Question 6

Medium ·Link to this question (question 6)

A member of the public walking past your site is hit by a falling piece of timber. They are taken from the scene to hospital for treatment.

Does this need reporting under RIDDOR?

Choose one answer.

  1. A. Yes, as they went to hospital for treatment
  2. B. No, because RIDDOR only covers workers
  3. C. No, because the public should have kept well away from the site
  4. D. Only if they make a complaint
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A

  • A. Right: Right. An injury to someone not at work must be reported if it arises from the work and they are taken from the scene to hospital for treatment.
  • B. Wrong: Wrong. RIDDOR also covers members of the public injured by work activities and taken to hospital.
  • C. Wrong: Wrong. The site must stop things falling outside the boundary. The injury came from the work.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. Reporting is a legal duty, not something that depends on a complaint.

Explanation

If a member of the public is hurt by work activity and taken to hospital for treatment, it must be reported under RIDDOR.

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Question 7

Harder · choose 2 ·Link to this question (question 7)

Several injuries happen on a large site in one week.

Which two are specified injuries that must be reported under RIDDOR straight away? (Choose two.)

Choose two answers.

  1. A. A painter sprains an ankle and is back at work next day
  2. B. A labourer loses part of a finger in a saw
  3. C. A joiner is knocked unconscious by a falling board
  4. D. A plasterer breaks a toe when a bucket drops on it
Show the answer and explanation

Answers: B, C

  • A. Wrong: Wrong. This is not a specified injury, and they were not off work for over seven days.
  • B. Right: Right. Amputation of a finger, thumb or toe, or part of a limb, is a specified injury.
  • C. Right: Right. Any loss of consciousness caused by a head injury is a specified injury.
  • D. Wrong: Wrong. Fractures are specified injuries, but fractures to fingers, thumbs and toes are not.

Explanation

Specified injuries include most fractures (not fingers, thumbs or toes), amputations, loss of sight, serious burns and loss of consciousness from a head injury.

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