50-3-702 - Accident reports.

50-3-702. Accident reports.

(a)  (1)  Each employer shall, in addition to making available to the commissioner the records and reports required by § 50-3-701, report each and every accident resulting in a work-related death or personal injury as defined in § 50-6-102.

     (2)  Reports of accidents that result in death or personal injury of a nature that the injured person does not return to the person's employment within seven (7) days after the occurrence of the accident shall be submitted to the division of workers' compensation as soon as possible, but not later than fourteen (14) days after the accident. Reports of all accidents causing seven (7) days of disability or fewer shall be submitted to the division of workers' compensation on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month covered by the report.

     (3)  The information required in the reports provided for in subdivision (a)(1) shall be prescribed by the commissioner and forms for making the reports shall be available on request.

     (4)  Special or additional reports shall be furnished, on written request of the commissioner, to provide any other necessary information.

     (5)  No report required by § 50-3-701 and this section shall be used in any judicial proceeding.

(b)  The employer's first report of work injury records that are maintained by the division are confidential. After completing a standard authorization form, which shall be provided by the division, an employee or an employee's attorney may obtain a copy of any report that concerns the employee's work injury. An employer may inquire in writing of the division to determine whether a job applicant has responded truthfully concerning any prior work injury. Nothing contained in this subsection (b) shall be construed or implemented to alter or amend existing law pertaining to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300 reports. This section does not apply to a collective bargaining agent as certified by the national labor relations board (NLRB).

[Acts 1972, ch. 561, § 14; 1974, ch. 585, §§ 23, 37; 1978, ch. 503, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1980, ch. 534, § 1; T.C.A., § 50-553; Acts 1990, ch. 839, § 1; 1999, ch. 520, § 41; 2002, ch. 540, § 1.]