Employee Refuses Treatment

ILBanker

I'm hoping that you all can give me some input on a situation that occurred while I was on vacation...An employee got a nosebleed that became very severe. After a half hour it had not stopped, but gotten worse. Other employees tried to get her to go to a doctor or the emergency room, but she did not want to go. A manager contacted the emergency room. They gave some instructions to try to stop it and told her that if it did not stop to bring the employee in. It did not stop, but the employee continued to refuse to seek treatment and started to get hostile toward other employees offering assistance. Eventually they convinced her to go to the hospital and once they got her there the doctor informed the other employees that they would not have been able to stop it on their own and it could have been detrimental to the employee. Should we,in situations like this, call 911 regardless of the employee's willingness? I know there is potential liability for not taking action and in turn something bad happens, but is there an issue with attempting to force treatment? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Beave

I'll try. In my opinion, if you called an ambulance to transport and she refuses assistance upon arrival, your potential liability would be greatly redused by your concern and attempt to assist. She, at that point, chose a course of action on her own.

Balloonman

When in doubt call the ambulance. They individual can always refuse treatment. I would also not allow them back to work until they provided a note from their physician stating they are good to return to work.

My $0.02 worth!
DJ The Balloonman

Crout

If she refuses all offers of assistance I would immediately order her home.

Parabeagle

We always call 911, especially in the case of obvious injuries or illness such as you describe. I have been told time and again by emergency responders that they would much rather we call them and risk embarassing a reluctant employee than to risk possible loss of life.

deniseE

We have run into similar situations...in the end this falls under our "fitness for duty" policy. If the manager/supervisor determines that the ee is not fit to do his/her job (assuming we're not talking about a life threatening situation-then 911 is immediately called-NO DEBATE) and is refusing medical assistance, HR is notified and the "cab fund" is activated (basically petty cash)....the ee is placed into a cab and instructed to seek medical attention and is not permitted to return to work without medical clearance. If the ee choses to take the cab home instead..that's his/her business.

MS HR

could it be she was worried about a blood test showing positive for...... ??????

Beave

That is exactly what I was thinking. Maybe a foreign substance up their helped the problem along ... /:)

mwild31

We have an EMT tech (been in the field for 20 years) come out every year for cpr/first aid training (two groups, alternate years for certification). He has drummed it into our heads to call 911 for everything short of surface cuts/minor injuries. It's the best policy, not only for liability issues, but in a lot of cases for the injured ee as well. Case in point, before the EMT began our training sessions, we had a 3rd shift lead accidentally, but badly, cut three of his fingers on a saw. His 2nd in command took him to the hospital (there's about 3 around here within a 15 mile radius). It turns out, he took him to the 'wrong' one as one of the other local hospitals trauma unit actually specialized, so the 2nd hopped back in his car and took the lead to the other hospital. I can only speculate, but in an educated way, that the EMT folks would have probably known where to go to begin with so that there wasn't any confusion/delay. After training with the trainer I mentioned above and instituting the policy, we had a lady working for us that complained of her chest hurting and actually turned green and put her head down on her workstation. We called 911; they came, attached an oxygen mask and took her to the hospital. They ended up keeping her overnight for observation. Thankfully, it turned out well. If you can change the policy, I really would. In my opinion, I think it's in the company's and in the ee's best interest.

ILBanker

Thanks for all the responses. You have confirmed what I was thinking. I will be updating our policy! By the way, in reply to the foreign substances questions, she is in her early sixties and was extremely concerned about how she looked because of all the blood (it was everywhere apparently). Once they convinced her to go to the hospital she insisted that they find her lipstick for her. Can you imagine? Anyway,I am fairly certain there wasn't anything shady. Thanks again for your input!

deniseE

The reason that we began the "cab ride" program was that a number of ee's complained that after 911 was called (against their wishes) that they couldn't afford the bill that subsequently arrived for the EMS service. Most of our health insurance policies will pay for the trip only when the ee is admitted--not treated and released. Certainly, if the situation warrants an ambulance ride,we're making the call...but we wanted to be sensitive to the financial needs of our ee's as well.

Pork

I would not bother with the financial needs of the ee. The ee and the company could be at sever risk, call and the comapny pay if the insurance does not. To me that is a no brainer. Cost of 911 action, can not be anywhere near the cost of attorney's fees to defend a claim for piss, poor, prior, planning, and lack of sound action by the company to save lives. We have a company in Meridian, MS currently facing these type issues because of company management inaction pertaining to someone who all knew to be an evil person. One day he blew 7 ees away, including his self. PPPP and take action, accordingly, now leaves lives runned and company under financial attack.

Put your plan in place and act accordingly. If the ee can not afford the ride, then the company should pay the ride. For sure, one can not prove company failed to act!

PORK