🚑 Workplace accidents and occupational diseases

What counts as a workplace accident, why the Berufsgenossenschaft and not the health insurer is responsible – and what you should do first after an accident.

Workplace accident Occupational disease Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer) SGB VII Commuting accident Reporting duty

In brief

A workplace accident is a time-limited event acting on the body from outside that leads to damage to health during insured activity – in principle this also includes the direct route to and from work (commuting accident). The competent body is not the health insurer but the statutory accident insurance, organised in Berufsgenossenschaften (statutory accident insurers).

Unlike with "ordinary" illness, in the case of a recognised workplace accident or occupational disease the Berufsgenossenschaft bears the cost of medical treatment from the start and pays an injury pension (Verletztenrente) for lasting consequences – regardless of any fault on the employer's part.

Step by step

First aid and medical careAfter a workplace accident, see a Durchgangsarzt (accident-insurance doctor – a special doctor approved by the Berufsgenossenschaft) without delay, unless the accident goes beyond a minor injury.
Report the accident to the employerReport the accident at work without delay, so that it is entered in the first-aid book and, in the case of reportable accidents, passed on to the Berufsgenossenschaft.
Check the report to the BerufsgenossenschaftThe employer must report accidents that lead to more than three days of incapacity for work or to death to the Berufsgenossenschaft (§ 193 SGB VII).
If you suspect an occupational disease: medical notification of suspicionDoctors are obliged to notify the Berufsgenossenschaft of a well-founded suspicion of an occupational disease; you can also prompt this yourself.

Deadlines

without delay

Reporting a workplace accident at work, in particular to secure insurance cover and complete documentation.workplace practice, derived from § 193 SGB VII (employer's duty)

> 3 days of incapacity for work or death

Threshold above which the employer must report an accident to the competent Berufsgenossenschaft.§ 193 Abs. 1 SGB VII

Watch out – common mistakes

If a workplace accident is not presented to a Durchgangsarzt in good time, this can make later recognition and proof more difficult.
A commuting accident is insured only on the direct route to or from work; private detours or interruptions that are not entirely insignificant can break insurance cover – the exact boundary is often disputed in individual cases.
Claims against the Berufsgenossenschaft as a rule exclude an additional liability claim against the employer or colleagues for the same damage (liability privilege, §§ 104, 105 SGB VII) – except in cases of intent.
Recognition of an occupational disease requires that the illness is listed in the list of occupational diseases in the Occupational Diseases Ordinance and that a sufficient causal link with the occupational activity can be made probable – in practice this is often the biggest hurdle.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Concept of a workplace accident

Under § 8 Abs. 1 SGB VII, a workplace accident is an accident that an insured person suffers as a result of an insured activity – a time-limited event acting on the body from outside that leads to damage to health or death. Under § 8 Abs. 2 SGB VII, commuting accidents are also included: accidents on the direct route between home and the place of work.

Responsibility of the statutory accident insurance

The carriers are the Berufsgenossenschaften (for the commercial economy) and the accident insurance carriers of the public sector respectively. They provide medical treatment "by all suitable means" from the start (§ 26 SGB VII), benefits for participation in working life and, in the case of lasting health consequences, an injury pension, the amount of which depends on the degree of reduction in earning capacity (§§ 56 ff. SGB VII).

Occupational diseases

An occupational disease exists if an illness is listed in Annex 1 of the Occupational Diseases Ordinance (BKV) and the person concerned has suffered it through their insured occupational activity to a considerably higher degree than the rest of the population (§ 9 SGB VII). Doctors and dentists are obliged to notify the competent Berufsgenossenschaft of a well-founded suspicion of an occupational disease (§ 202 SGB VII).

Liability privilege

In respect of an insured event (workplace accident or occupational disease), the employer and persons working in the business are in principle exempt from civil liability towards the injured person, except where the damage was caused intentionally (§§ 104, 105 SGB VII). In return, the statutory accident insurance steps in regardless of fault.

Who is responsible

Competent Berufsgenossenschaft
Durchgangsarzt (accident-insurance doctor)
Works council, if there is one (occupational safety committee)

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Workplace accidents and occupational diseases“?

What counts as a workplace accident, why the Berufsgenossenschaft and not the health insurer is responsible – and what you should do first after an accident.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

without delay: Reporting a workplace accident at work, in particular to secure insurance cover and complete documentation. (workplace practice, derived from § 193 SGB VII (employer's duty))
> 3 days of incapacity for work or death: Threshold above which the employer must report an accident to the competent Berufsgenossenschaft. (§ 193 Abs. 1 SGB VII)

What should I do first?

First aid and medical care: After a workplace accident, see a Durchgangsarzt (accident-insurance doctor – a special doctor approved by the Berufsgenossenschaft) without delay, unless the accident goes beyond a minor injury.
Report the accident to the employer: Report the accident at work without delay, so that it is entered in the first-aid book and, in the case of reportable accidents, passed on to the Berufsgenossenschaft.
Check the report to the Berufsgenossenschaft: The employer must report accidents that lead to more than three days of incapacity for work or to death to the Berufsgenossenschaft (§ 193 SGB VII).

What do I need to watch out for?

If a workplace accident is not presented to a Durchgangsarzt in good time, this can make later recognition and proof more difficult.
A commuting accident is insured only on the direct route to or from work; private detours or interruptions that are not entirely insignificant can break insurance cover – the exact boundary is often disputed in individual cases.
Claims against the Berufsgenossenschaft as a rule exclude an additional liability claim against the employer or colleagues for the same damage (liability privilege, §§ 104, 105 SGB VII) – except in cases of intent.

Evidence

Sozialgesetzbuch VII (SGB VII) §§ 8, 9, 26, 56, 104, 105, 193, 202, gesetze-im-internet.de
Berufskrankheiten-Verordnung (BKV), gesetze-im-internet.de

As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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