Wrongful termination?
new2it
5 Posts
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 04-28-03 AT 05:21PM (CST)[/font][p]An employee of a nursing home has a great record; certification as LPN, good attendance, great relationship with all the residents, no displinary problems and no prior "incidences" etc. One day there is an unfortunately accident of an elderly resident slipping and hurting his head slightly as the employee was helping him. In that same day as the employee is bathing a different resident, the resident's gums start bleeding (apparently at no fault of the employee, this patient simply had very poor gum health). The employee dries the resident off then goes for help.
Following protocol, the nursing home then suspends the employee pending an investigation. A few days later, the nursing home releases the employee, stating that because two incidents happened in one day, they fear backlash from OSHA or any other inspection agency. They told the employee with regards to the patient with the bleeding gums, the employee didn't get help fast enough. Now, why would the employee leave the man standing in the tub, dripping wet so that he could possibly slip and injury himself further?
Two other factors I believe should be taken into consideration are as follows: This particular employee was hurt on the job and required stitches in his head, resulting in a Worker's Comp claim a few months prior to his termination. He had another worker's comp claim about a year ago when a bed fell on his foot. He was also attacked outside of the nursing home after his shift one night, beaten badly in a robbery attempt. The local newspaper interviewed him and put a front page article in the paper that mentioned his place of work and the fact that this crime took place right outside of the facility. This resulted in calls from several relatives of the nursing home residents, expressing concern for the safety of their loved ones. The nursing home staff expressed anger towards the employee for mentioning the facility in the newspaper, giving it bad publicity.
Does this sound like someone looking for a reason to get rid of a "problem" employee? Is there some more information I should be looking for here to get deeper into the situation?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Following protocol, the nursing home then suspends the employee pending an investigation. A few days later, the nursing home releases the employee, stating that because two incidents happened in one day, they fear backlash from OSHA or any other inspection agency. They told the employee with regards to the patient with the bleeding gums, the employee didn't get help fast enough. Now, why would the employee leave the man standing in the tub, dripping wet so that he could possibly slip and injury himself further?
Two other factors I believe should be taken into consideration are as follows: This particular employee was hurt on the job and required stitches in his head, resulting in a Worker's Comp claim a few months prior to his termination. He had another worker's comp claim about a year ago when a bed fell on his foot. He was also attacked outside of the nursing home after his shift one night, beaten badly in a robbery attempt. The local newspaper interviewed him and put a front page article in the paper that mentioned his place of work and the fact that this crime took place right outside of the facility. This resulted in calls from several relatives of the nursing home residents, expressing concern for the safety of their loved ones. The nursing home staff expressed anger towards the employee for mentioning the facility in the newspaper, giving it bad publicity.
Does this sound like someone looking for a reason to get rid of a "problem" employee? Is there some more information I should be looking for here to get deeper into the situation?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Comments
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
In doing his job and elderly resident slips and hits his head. The same day another resident's gums start to bleed. He is suspended and then terminated.
Wow! Talk about a walk in the park for ANY lawyer this guy hires. Thanks to your company, he may not have to work another day in his life. See, good things happen to those that wait.
THANKS!