Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)

RIDDOR, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, sets out which work accidents must be reported. This guide covers who reports, the deadlines and the dangerous occurrences that involve lifting equipment.

Overview

What RIDDOR covers

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, known as RIDDOR, employers and whoever controls a workplace must report serious work accidents, some diseases and listed dangerous occurrences to the enforcing authority, which is HSE or the local council.

In short

A crane or other lifting equipment that overturns, collapses or breaks a load-bearing part must be reported, even if nobody is hurt.
A failed sling or other lifting accessory on its own is not reportable.
A death or a specified injury is notified without delay and followed by a report within 10 days.
An injury that keeps a worker off normal work for more than 7 days is reported within 15 days.

Full title	Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
Reference	Statutory instrument (SI) 2013/1471
Current version	The Regulations as amended. legislation.gov.uk lists no outstanding changes to the revised text.
Publisher	The National Archives, on legislation.gov.uk
Status	In force
Legal status	Regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Breaches are criminal offences.
Extent	Great Britain, and some premises and work offshore
Northern Ireland	Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Duty holders

Who has duties under the Regulations

The person who must report is the “responsible person” in regulation 3, and who that is depends on who was involved.

Employers report deaths and injuries to their own employees, diseases diagnosed in them, and dangerous occurrences involving them.
The person in control of the premises reports injuries to members of the public and self-employed people, and any other dangerous occurrence.
Self-employed people report their own diseases, and some of their own injuries.
On a construction site, HSE’s examples name the person in control of the site, often the principal contractor, for injuries to self-employed workers.

When a crane overturns with an employed operator in the cab, regulation 3 can point to the operator’s employer, so agree before the lift who would report. Injured people and members of the public do not report under RIDDOR themselves (HSE: who should report).

Requirements

What the Regulations require

To notify means telling the enforcing authority by the quickest practicable means. The report is the written record that follows.

Death from a work accident	Notify without delay, report within 10 days (regulation 6)
Specified injury to a worker, such as a fracture other than to fingers, thumbs or toes, or a crush injury that damages internal organs	Notify without delay, report within 10 days (regulation 4)
Worker off normal work for more than 7 consecutive days	Report within 15 days of the accident (regulation 4)
Member of the public taken to hospital for treatment	Notify without delay, report within 10 days (regulation 5)
Dangerous occurrence listed in Schedule 2	Notify without delay, report within 10 days (regulation 7)
Listed occupational disease	Report without delay once a doctor’s diagnosis is received (regulation 8)

Reports go through HSE’s online forms, and deaths or specified injuries to workers can also be phoned in on 0345 300 9923. Under regulation 12, the responsible person keeps a record of every reportable incident, and of any injury that keeps a worker off for more than 3 days, for at least 3 years. Injuries from vehicles moving on a road are excluded unless they involve loading or unloading, work on or beside a road, a train or a substance the vehicle carried (regulation 14).

Lifting

How the Regulations apply to lifting and machine moving

The first dangerous occurrence in Schedule 2 is the collapse, overturning or failure of any load-bearing part of lifting equipment. HSE’s guidance on dangerous occurrences adds that:

the entry applies to a crane whatever job it was doing at the time, demolition included
failure means a component breaking down in normal use, not accidental or deliberate damage
ancillary parts such as radius indicators, and accessories such as chains and slings, are excluded
piling rigs count as lifting equipment

Schedule 2 lists other events that can happen on a lift or a machine move:

plant or equipment that unintentionally touches an uninsulated overhead line over 200 volts, or comes close enough to cause a discharge
the collapse of a substantial part of a scaffold more than 5 m high
on construction work, the unintended collapse of a structure involving more than 5 t of material, or of a wall or floor in a place of work
any unintended collapse of falsework

The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) also apply after an incident. Regulation 9 calls for a thorough examination after anything liable to affect the equipment’s safety, and under regulation 10 an examiner who finds a defect posing a risk of serious injury sends a copy of the report to the enforcing authority.

A yellow mobile crane with an offset fly jib reaching over the roof of a tall office building with dark cladding — A mobile crane with an offset fly jib reaching the roof of a tall building.

Definitions

Key definitions

Dangerous occurrence: an event listed in Schedule 2.
Specified injury: one of the serious injuries listed in regulation 4.
Over-7-day injury: an injury that keeps a worker from normal work for more than 7 consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident.
HSENI: the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland.

Enforcement

Enforcement and penalties

HSE and local authorities enforce RIDDOR, depending on the type of workplace. Failing to report is an offence under section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In England and Wales, magistrates can impose an unlimited fine and prison, and the Crown Court an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison (Schedule 3A). In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service decides whether to prosecute.

Northern Ireland still uses its 1997 Regulations, with “major” and over-3-day injuries in place of the GB categories. Reports go to HSENI or the district council for the area.

Guidance

Guidance and sources

HSE’s free leaflet Reporting accidents and incidents at work (INDG453) sets out the duties. HSE ran a consultation on changing RIDDOR in 2026, including the list of dangerous occurrences, and the Regulations had not changed as of October 2026.

Sources and further reading

Questions

Common questions

What happens if a crane overturns but nobody is hurt?

It must still be reported, with notice without delay and a report within 10 days. If an employee was involved, regulation 3 makes their employer responsible for reporting.

Who reports when a worker from another firm is injured on site?

Their own employer reports it, even on someone else’s site. If they are self-employed, the person in control of the site reports it.

When does a sling failure need reporting?

When it causes a reportable injury or leads to another listed event, such as the crane overturning. A failed accessory on its own is not a dangerous occurrence in Great Britain.