Give notice about occupational accident

The term accident refers to an extrinsic event occurring suddenly or unexpectedly, causing personal injury. In order for an accident to be considered an occupational accident, it must have occurred

• during work
• during working hours
• in the workplace

The term ‘workplace’ in this context refers to anywhere the employee is performing work. This includes the employee’s transit between different work assignments during working hours.

Violence or threats against an employee outside the workplace or outside working hours are also considered an occupational accident if the event is linked to the work.

Notice must be given about all work-related fatal accidents, regardless of how these occurred. Notice must also be given for occupational accidents causing serious personal injury.

The term ‘personal injury’ refers to both physical and mental injuries that may be life-threatening or cause permanent or long-term incapacity for work. Examples of serious personal injury include

• head injury or concussion with loss of consciousness or other serious consequences
• skeletal injuries, with the exception of simple cracks or fractures in fingers or toes
• internal injuries to organs, e.g. lungs, kidneys and spleen
• loss of limbs, amputation of all or part of body parts
• poisoning with a risk of permanent health damage from inhalation, ingestion and skin exposure to gas or fluids
• loss of consciousness, e.g. from oxygen deprivation or head impact
• burns, frost damage or corrosion damage
• hypothermia
• injury requiring treatment at a hospital – except simple outpatient treatment

This list is not exhaustive; it is intended simply as useful information for determining whether you need to give notice about the accident.

Give notice about violence and threats related to work

The employer must also give notice about work-related violence and threats causing serious physical and/or psychological injury, even if these events occurred outside of work or outside of working hours. One example is when an employee is subjected to violence or threats at home or when they are off work, but the events are related to their work.

Read more about violence and threats (In Norwegian)

Serious personal injury can occur acutely, but also over time. Internal injuries, especially, may only become visible after some time.

Always give notice about the accident if you suspect it may lead to injuries or health damage later on. Examples of such accidents include

• electrocution
• violence and/or threats in the workplace
• psychological strain
• exposure to harmful chemicals
• exposure to gas
• falls from a height
• pinching or crushing accidents

Not all accidents occurring in connection with work require a notice to the Labour Inspection Authority. Examples include accidents occurring

• outside of working hours, e.g. en route to or from work
• in a social work context, e.g. at a Christmas party

Contact the Labour Inspection Authority directory (select option 3) if you are not sure if the accident requires a notice.

Even if not all accidents require a notice, the employer must still

• keep records of all injuries and illnesses (in Norwegian)
• notify other public agencies about the accident
• notify NAV about occupational injuries and illnesses (nav.no)

Sometimes, employers are required to notify other public agencies about the occupational accident and not the Labour Inspection Authority. Examples of such accidents and where to give notice:

• Notice of electrocution accidents must be given to both the Labour Inspection Authority and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) (dsb.no, In Norwegian).
• Notice of accidents at sea must be given to the Norwegian Maritime Authority (sdir.no).
• Notice of accidents and dangerous situations occurring in connection with work on petroleum rigs, work on renewable energy production at sea or CO2 management must be given to the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (havtil.no).
• Notice of aviation accidents and incidents must be given to the Civil Aviation Authority (luftfartstilsynet.no).

The employer must notify the Labour Inspection Authority and the police as soon as possible, and no later than the next business day following the occupational accident.

Call the Labour Inspection Authority at tel. 73 19 97 00 (select option 3) to give notice of an accident.

• All work-related accidents with a fatal outcome must be called in via telephone as soon as possible.
• This line is open to receive notices on business days 08:00-15:45.

You must also call to notify the closest police authority. Call the police using telephone number 02800.

Before calling, be prepared to answer questions about the following:

• where the accident occurred – give as accurate an address as possible
• when the accident occurred 
• who you are and what your role is – name, role and telephone number
• other relevant contact persons – names, roles and telephone numbers 
• what happened and what the extent of the personal injury is
• which enterprise the injured person(s) work for – if you know
• other involved enterprises at the site of the accident – if you know

If you are unable to notify us via telephone immediately, you must fill out and submit the notification form (see below) as soon as possible. Notice of serious dangerous situations in connection with rock work shall be given in the same manner.

After you have notified the Labour Inspection Authority and the police via telephone, you must confirm the verbal notice in writing by filling out and submitting a notification form to the Labour Inspection Authority.

A copy of the notification form must be provided to the safety representative.

Download and fill out our notification form

• Download notification form – English (PDF)
• Download notification form – Norwegian (PDF)

You should download and fill out the form on a computer. We recommend that you use either Adobe Reader or a browser with full support for PDF forms.

Remember to save the completed form locally on your computer. 

If you use an Apple device (e.g. a Mac), you should not use the Preview application. This sometimes causes errors when opening and filling out the form.

If you can’t download or fill out the forms, please contact Signform via e-mail: info@signform.no

Submit the notification form electronically

Submit the notification form electronically via eDialog.

Make sure the form has been filled out correctly before submitting it.

Because the notification form contains personal data, you must not use e-mail.

Read more about how to use eDialog to submit letters and documents to the Labour Inspection Authority

Employers also have other obligations in connection with injuries or illnesses, including:

• keeping records of occupational injuries and illnesses (in Norwegian)
• giving notification to NAV in connection with injuries or illnesses that may entitle the worker to occupational injury coverage (nav.no)
• taking out occupational injuries insurance for all employees (in Norwegian)
• keep a record of workers who are exposed to harmful conditions (in Norwegian)

All physicians have an obligation to report work-related illnesses (in Norwegian), i.e. illnesses they believe are caused by the patient’s work or employment situation. Physicians do not have the same obligation to report work-related injuries, but we still encourage them to also report injuries.

Notifications of both illnesses and injuries are very important for our prevention work. We treat all reports confidentially. 

Employers performing rock work have an obligation to notify the Labour Inspection Authority of any serious dangerous situations that have occurred in the workplace. You must give notification as soon as possible, using the same telephone number and notification form as for other types of accidents.

The term ‘dangerous situation’ refers to a situation that could have led to an accident causing personal injury. In some cases, a dangerous situation also includes

• violations of laws or regulations
• violations of the enterprise’s safety procedures
• inadequate internal safety procedures