Workers Comp Claim

[mk162]

So, after 33 years in business, we had our first workers comp claim.  It's unfortunate, but thankfully nobody was seriously hurt.  Just a reminder to check up on your WC policy and go over safety procedures(not that this would have been prevented at all).

Also make sure your list of WC approved doctors is hanging in a visible place if it's required in your state...ours is.

I was happy with how fast everybody rallied around and how quickly the EMT's arrived.

[GraphicDisorder]

What happened?

We had a employee fall recently (wearing flip flops which is against policy) and offered to use Workers Comp, they declined.

[mk162]

He had been feeling a little under the weather, not bad, but he got dizzy and passed out.  Luckily 2 people broke his fall.  He didn't have a seizure, but I guess people can look like they are seizing when they wake back up.  At that point I was thinking...sh1t just got real and we called an EMT at that point.  He needed to go in and get checked out to make sure it wasn't in fact a seizure.

My sister is a nurse, and she works here...that was freaking handy as hell.

[Doug B]

  We had an incident here recently and found out that NOBODY but myself had
any kind of first aid or CPR training. That will change right away!

[blue moon]

  We had an incident here recently and found out that NOBODY but myself had
any kind of first aid or CPR training. That will change right away!

before you train, work out the legal ramifications of it. It's a big mess! It is similar with fighting fires. Some places do not allow it due to legal problems that can arise.

pierre

[mk162]

  We had an incident here recently and found out that NOBODY but myself had
any kind of first aid or CPR training. That will change right away!

before you train, work out the legal ramifications of it. It's a big mess! It is similar with fighting fires. Some places do not allow it due to legal problems that can arise.

pierre

Would you be allowed to pay to send your employees to a class taught by licensed instructors?  I would imagine that would remove some of the liability.

Or just have them watch this training video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssIY8NYwvh4

[Zelko-4-EVA]

  We had an incident here recently and found out that NOBODY but myself had
any kind of first aid or CPR training. That will change right away!

before you train, work out the legal ramifications of it. It's a big mess! It is similar with fighting fires. Some places do not allow it due to legal problems that can arise.

pierre

Would you be allowed to pay to send your employees to a class taught by licensed instructors?  I would imagine that would remove some of the liability.

Or just have them watch this training video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssIY8NYwvh4

i knew i was going to end up watching that!

best training video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oB6DN5dYWo&t=182s

[Prince Art]

best training video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oB6DN5dYWo&t=182s

Wow. That was... different.

[blue moon]

having a hard time remembering what the issues were, but I remember there were companies that did not allow the use of fire extinguishers even if it was something small. Similar with CPR as, maybe, the good samaritan law did not apply once you were trained? I can't really remember much other than thinking holly crap this makes no sense what so ever.
Somebody should look into it and post what they find. Or call SGIA and get a clarification from them. . .

pierre

[whitewater]

I took the cpr class and I believe now you will not get sued if you tried and something happened.

[ZooCity]

  We had an incident here recently and found out that NOBODY but myself had
any kind of first aid or CPR training. That will change right away!

before you train, work out the legal ramifications of it. It's a big mess! It is similar with fighting fires. Some places do not allow it due to legal problems that can arise.

pierre

Would you be allowed to pay to send your employees to a class taught by licensed instructors?  I would imagine that would remove some of the liability.

Or just have them watch this training video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssIY8NYwvh4

i knew i was going to end up watching that!

best training video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oB6DN5dYWo&t=182s

This is now mandatory safety training for all staff here.  Thank you.

[Atownsend]

having a hard time remembering what the issues were, but I remember there were companies that did not allow the use of fire extinguishers even if it was something small. Similar with CPR as, maybe, the good samaritan law did not apply once you were trained? I can't really remember much other than thinking holly crap this makes no sense what so ever.
Somebody should look into it and post what they find. Or call SGIA and get a clarification from them. . .

pierre

Laws vary from state to state, but from my understanding, the good samaritan law will protect you as long as you do not do anything outside of your scope of training. For instance, if you were only trained to do CPR / AED, and then you improperly put in a chest tube or administer a medication... then yeah you are going to be liable when something goes wrong. So long as you are acting in good faith and do not do anything out of your scope of practice you should be covered, unless you're engaging in gross negligence or intentional malpractice.

Not a lawyer by any means, but I was a nurse in a prior life & this is how it was taught to me. Stay within your scope of training and you are okay, but go beyond it and pretend to be a Doctor when you're not, you'll get smashed.

And of course... if the person is conscious, always ask for consent before you help them. If they are unconscious, and you are comfortable helping, then by all means do your duty as a human being and help! By acting decisively you can save someones life.

[blue moon]

The good samaritan will protect the person administering the CPR or providing help, but not the employer. Somebody could sue you for inadequately training or selecting the wrong person for the training, forcing them to provide the aid and so on. There are many scenarios where it can be an issue. I am not saying, don't help, but let's get some facts here so we can have a productive conversation. Laws also change from state to state and from what I can see, in some cases it covers only medical professionals and some states cover everybody.

pierre