# Near miss

> A near miss is an event that could have hurt someone but did not. Someone caught it in time, or it missed by chance. OSHA calls it a close call.

Source: https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/near-miss · Updated Oct 5, 2026

Also known as: close call, potential adverse event

## Near miss and related terms

A near miss injured no one. Groups sort the nearby terms in different ways, so the labels matter.

| Term | Meaning | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Near miss or close call | A safety event that did not reach the patient | AHRQ Common Formats |
| Near miss (by chance) | No injury, but only by chance | AHRQ PSNet |
| Incident | A safety event that reached the patient, harmed or not | AHRQ Common Formats |
| Unsafe condition | A situation that makes a safety event more likely | AHRQ Common Formats |

## Where it shows up

OSHA tells employers to investigate close calls to find hidden hazards. Under process safety management, you must investigate any incident that could reasonably have caused a catastrophic release. Start within 48 hours (29 CFR 1910.119(m)).

Example: a pharmacist spots a look-alike vial before it leaves the pharmacy. A forklift stops short of a person crossing an aisle. No one is hurt, and each shows a problem to fix.

Mix-up: an error that reaches the patient with no harm is not a near miss in the AHRQ sense. On the NCC MERP index, an error that never reached the patient is category B. Errors that reached the patient without harm are C and D.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between a near miss and a no-harm event?

A near miss does not reach the patient (AHRQ Common Formats). A no-harm event reaches the patient but causes no injury.

### Do near misses have to be reported to OSHA?

Not under the recordkeeping rules. OSHA wants reports of deaths, in-patient hospital stays, amputations and loss of an eye (29 CFR 1904.39). Process safety rules still require an internal investigation.

### Why do near misses matter?

Close calls show where hazards are, says OSHA. Looking into them finds hazards before anyone is hurt.

## Sources

- [AHRQ PSNet: Adverse events, near misses, and errors (primer)](https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/adverse-events-near-misses-and-errors)
- [Federal Register, April 8, 2016 (81 FR 20642): AHRQ Common Formats for reporting on health care quality and patient safety](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-04-08/pdf/2016-08021.pdf)
- [OSHA: Recommended practices, hazard identification and assessment (incident investigation)](https://www.osha.gov/safety-management/hazard-identification)
- [OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119: Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.119)
- [OSHA 29 CFR 1904.39: Reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.39)
- [HHS OIG: Adverse Events in Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries (OEI-06-09-00090, November 2010)](https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-09-00090.pdf)

## Related terms

- [Adverse event](https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/adverse-event)
- [Incident report](https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/incident-report)
- [Just culture](https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/just-culture)
- [Harm scale](https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/harm-scale)
- [Medication error](https://incidentkit.ai/glossary/medication-error)

## Related

- [Near-Miss Reporting: How to Build a Program That Works](https://incidentkit.ai/use-cases/near-miss-reporting)
- [Near Miss Report Template (Free, Printable Form)](https://incidentkit.ai/templates/near-miss-report)
- [Near-miss reporting and safety culture: a practical guide](https://incidentkit.ai/guides/near-miss-reporting-and-safety-culture)
- [How to get staff to report near misses (and keep doing it)](https://incidentkit.ai/blog/how-to-get-staff-to-report-near-misses)
- [QR code quick report for incidents and near misses](https://incidentkit.ai/product/quick-report)