A workplace accident is a sudden event caused by an external factor resulting in injury or death, which occurred in connection with work:

• during or in connection with the employee performing normal activities or following orders from superiors
• during or in connection with the employee performing activities for the employer, even without instructions
• during the time when the employee is at the employer’s disposal on the way between the employer’s headquarters and the place of performing the duty arising from the employment relationship.

Equivalent to a workplace accident, in terms of entitlement to benefits specified in the Act, is an accident that the employee suffered:

• during a business trip in circumstances other than those already mentioned, unless the accident was caused by the employee’s behavior that is not related to the performance of the tasks entrusted to them
• during training in the field of universal self-defense
• when performing tasks assigned by trade union organizations operating at the employer.

To qualify a specific event as a workplace accident, it is necessary to determine that all the prerequisites for an accident have occurred:

• suddenness of the event,
• external cause,
• injury or death of the employee
• connection between the event and work.

An employee who has suffered an accident, if their health condition allows it, should immediately inform their supervisor about such an event.

Workplace accident

In the case of a serious, fatal, or mass workplace accident and any other that has caused such effects and may be considered a workplace accident, the employer must notify the district labor inspector.

What accidents must the employer report

It is the employer’s obligation to notify the district labor inspector appropriate for the place of the event about:

• a serious workplace accident
• a mass workplace accident
• a fatal workplace accident
• any other accident that is related to work and has caused the mentioned effect (fatal, serious, mass), if it can be considered a workplace accident.

A fatal workplace accident is one that causes death within a period not exceeding 6 months from the date of the accident.

A serious workplace accident is one that caused serious bodily harm, such as:

• health disorder violating the basic functions of the body,
• loss of sight, hearing, speech, reproductive capacity, or other bodily harm,
• permanent mental illness,
• permanent, total, or partial inability to work in the profession,
• incurable or life-threatening disease,
• permanent, significant disfigurement or deformation of the body.

A mass workplace accident is an accident that affected at least two people.

Note! In addition to the labor inspector, the employer also notifies the prosecutor about the accident. Failure to notify the labor inspector or prosecutor about a workplace accident is an offense by the employer, which is punishable by a fine from 1000 PLN to 30,000 PLN.

Submitting an accident notification

Notification of a fatal, serious, or mass workplace accident and of any other accident that has caused the mentioned effects, related to work, if it can be considered an accident, must be submitted by the employer in writing. The notification should contain the following information:

• employer identification (employer’s name, first and last name, position held, telephone)
• date and time of the event
• number of injured persons
• data of injured persons (including the injured person’s first and last name, basis for providing work, effects of the accident for the injured person)
• place of the accident
• information about the course of the accident event.

Accepting an accident notification

The appropriate district labor inspector accepts from the employer a notification of a fatal, serious, or mass workplace accident and of any other accident that has caused the mentioned effects, related to work, if it can be considered a workplace accident.

What should the employer do in case of an accident

The employer must provide first aid to the injured and take necessary actions to eliminate or limit the threat (for example, shutting down machines and devices, cutting off power supply to machines, materials).

Moreover, the employer must secure the accident site against access by unauthorized persons and the possibility of starting – without need – machines and other technical devices, the movement of which was stopped in connection with this event. The possibility of changes in the positioning of machines and devices and other objects that caused the accident should be excluded if, based on their position and condition, it will be possible to recreate the circumstances, course, and determine the causes.

It is the employer’s obligation to conduct a systematic analysis of accidents and introduce preventive measures that will help avoid their recurrence.

What does post-accident procedure involve

The employer is also obliged to conduct a post-accident procedure. As part of this procedure, the post-accident team, i.e., an OHS service employee and a social labor inspector, should determine the circumstances and causes of the workplace accident. If the employer does not have an OHS service, the team will include the employer or an employee to whom the employer entrusts the performance of OHS tasks or an external specialist. If there is no social labor inspection in the company, the team will include an employee representative who must have a valid certificate of completion of OHS training.

The team will investigate the circumstances and causes of the accident, including examining the place where it occurred, listening to the explanations of the injured person or witnesses, as well as seeking the opinion of a doctor.

No later than 14 days from the notification of the accident, the team will prepare a post-accident protocol, in which it will indicate whether the event was of the nature of a workplace accident and, if so, under what circumstances and for what reasons it occurred. The injured person has the right to raise objections and comments to the content of the protocol. The protocol is then approved by the employer, who has 5 days from the preparation of the protocol to do so.

The approved post-accident protocol is delivered by the employer to:

• the injured person
• the family (in case of a fatal accident)
• the labor inspector (in case of a fatal, mass, or serious accident)

The protocol of determining the circumstances and causes of the workplace accident, along with the remaining post-accident documentation, must be kept by the employer for 10 years.

An injured person who does not agree with the content of the protocol may file a lawsuit for the correction of the post-accident protocol. Most often, as part of this procedure, the parties: the injured person and the employer, dispute whether a given event can be considered a workplace accident.

The employer is obliged to keep a register of workplace accidents. The costs associated with determining the circumstances and causes of workplace accidents are borne by the employer.