Staff Member Ignores Physician, Business Pays.
When an staff member ignores directions from a physician, who’s responsible if the staff member causes a serious accident on the job?
In some cases, it’s your firm that ends up on the hook â.” both for workers’ comp and for other people ’s injuries caused by misuse of a prescription drug.
Situations such as these raise three questions that even HR/benefits pros have trouble answering. Precisely how are you â.” or supervisors â.” supposed to know what meds individuals are on and whether they’re taking them as directed by their physicians?
In most cases, you won’t.
Can you determine without violating health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) or other laws?
You can’t, unless the worker volunteers the info or a doctor notes the effects of medication being the reason for the accident.
So if you won’t know and can’t find out, how on earth can your firm be held responsible after the fact?
It all depends on the circumstances. Three key danger signs -
o A supervisor already has knowledge of an employee’s medical condition, if not the meds themselves. Example - the staff member requested a schedule change and said it was as a result of a particular medical problem
o The person has a history of erratic behavior that management suspects is medication-related, and/or
o The employee’s job involves potentially dangerous situations.
Spotting possible danger
A Florida case (Johnson v. Rentway) is a classic example of the two of the three big danger signs.
1. The supervisor knew an worker had insulin-dependent diabetes.
2. The staff member was under doctor’s orders to take insulin at specific times, which required the corporation to adjust the employee’s schedule.
But as a result of short staffing, the employee was often forced to work shifts that overlapped with times he was supposed to take injections.
What’s more, the employee worked a potentially dangerous job (he was a expert truck driver).
Lastly, the inevitable happpened. The employee suffered a diabetic blackout at the wheel, causing a serious crash that injured himself and another driver.
The staff member filed for workers’ comp, and the injured driver sued the business. The firm fought â.” and lostâ.” both cases. Total cost - $5 million.