What does “Lost-time injury” mean?
Short answer
A lost-time injury is a work injury or illness that keeps a worker home past the day it happened. OSHA's term for it is a days-away case.
Also known as: LTI, lost time incident, days away from work case
The OSHA match
Under 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3), a case with days away gets a check mark in the days-away column and the number of calendar days away. Counting starts the day after the injury or the start of the illness.
- Count calendar days the employee could not work, including weekends and holidays.
- If a licensed professional advises days away, record them even if the worker returns early.
- You may cap the count at 180 days. Estimate long absences until known.
- Record the case once, in the year of the injury.
Example: a worker hurt on Tuesday returns on Thursday. Wednesday is the only day away, so the case has one day away.
What is not lost time
Restricted work and job transfer are separate OSHA categories. They count toward the DART rate but not as days away. A case with medical treatment beyond first aid and no missed or restricted days is recordable, but it is not lost time.
Mix-up: company policies often define lost time as a missed shift or scheduled workday. OSHA counts calendar days, so internal numbers and OSHA 300 Log numbers can differ. Say which definition each report uses. See LTIR for the rate.
Frequently asked questions
Is the day of the injury counted as a day away?
No. OSHA starts counting the day after the injury or the start of the illness.
Do weekends count toward days away?
Yes, if the worker could not have worked them because of the injury. A Friday injury with a Monday return counts only if a clinician says the worker should not have worked.
What if the employee comes back before the doctor says to?
Days away are still recorded as the licensed professional advised, whether or not the worker follows it. If the worker stays home after being cleared, the count ends on the cleared date.
Sources
- OSHA 29 CFR 1904.7: General recording criteria
- OSHA: Establishment-specific injury and illness data (rate definitions)
Reviewed against the sources above on Oct 5, 2026. Rules change: confirm current requirements with the issuing body or your counsel before relying on any summary.
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