Medical incident at work - New Suit ruined - Whose responsible?

Takeaway_Addict

boliston wrote: »

I would ask the company as asking the person who had the fit would just be silly as they did not choose to damage the jacket. I had a bike stolen from my workplace (locked company bike shed) and my employer replaced it without question.

They could have helped themselves by taking their drugs to help prevent having fits.

Andypandyboy

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

They could have helped themselves by taking their drugs to help prevent having fits.

Photo sensitive Epilepsy is difficult to control and the triggers vary.

boliston

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

They could have helped themselves by taking their drugs to help prevent having fits.

The chances of an employee having #200 spare is probably quite low (unless they are a senior executive) compared with an employer offering to help.

sangie595

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

They could have helped themselves by taking their drugs to help prevent having fits.

It is obvious that, by not actually having the meds on them, these are meds that are taken erratically, not regularly. So the person would have no idea they needed them beforehand. Not everyone with epilepsy has a regular drug regime.

OP doesn't your household/ personal insurance cover such incidents? Mine would.

Otherwise, you could ask your employer for help, but they aren't obliged to. The same goes for asking the colleague, except that once that news gets around you will have a reputation lower than dirt in the workplace!

theoretica

Nicki wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't ask the colleague to pay for the jacket. You could though ask either your line manager or HR whether the company will reimburse you for the suit. I'd do this in "I hate to ask, and I'm glad my colleague was OK" way though, and if the answer is no, you'll have to take it on the chin I think or destroy your reputation at work.

I agree with this - I can't see asking doing any harm so long as done in a straightforward way and 'really appreciate it if you could help' rather than demanding.

If the marketing department put together something with flashing lights in the 3 to 30 hz range they are probably lucky it was a staff member that was affected. It would be very bad marketing to do that to a member of the public! It is such poor practice to do this without warning that I would not have expected your colleague to speak up before every video is shown.

basil92

A few years ago, in the middle of winter, whilst cycling to work, I witnessed a very bad accident on a dual carriage way...then an elderly guy knocked down by another car whilst attending the initial accident.

Others were attending him before I could get there so I kept a respectable distance. They didn't move him and needed coats etc to try and keep him warm. I immediately took off my coat and gave it to them.

The air ambulance arrived, he was treated and then airlifted hospital.

I was in shock and after my statement had been taken by the police and also been asked by the ambulance people if I was ok...I set off shakily pushing my bike to my destination...

I never saw my coat again...it was a gortex mountaineering coat and had cost me £300... which was a huge amount of money to me (still is)..and something I'd saved up for for ages...

Mattered not a jot to me...I just spent weeks hoping the fella was ok. The police had taken my statement and the driver was going to be prosecuted...I just hoped the guy had survived.

Months later, a lady tapped me on the shoulder in a local supermarket and said you were there and gave your help and coat to my friend to keep him warm when he was hit by a car. Thank you so much.. .All I said was is he ok? ...and thankfully she said that after a week in hospital he'd recovered well...

That made my day...the expensive coat I lost was the last thing on my mind.

TELLIT01

Absolutely not the colleague who had the fit. He wasn't responsible for using your jacket as a pillow. Not the first aider who did what was expected of them in attending to the individual and using whatever was to hand for that purpose.
I would possibly speak to the HR department and ask if the company would at least contribute to the replacement of the suit as the damage occurred at work and was beyond your control.

Hermia

A first aider at my last place of work ended up drenched in blood after a particularly messy first aid incident. The HR department immediately gave her the money for new clothes. Mind you, that was partly because there was no way she could be allowed to travel home on the train looking like an extra from a horror film.

FBaby

Agree with Nicki, it's all down to how you go about it. It's not totally unreasonable to ask the organisation, but whether they will feel responsible or feel that you deserve a 'gesture of goodwill' will come down to their organisation culture. I would therefore go about it in a very discreet way to either your boss or HR depending on the relationship, and not mention it to any colleagues. Get a note from Timpsons stating that it couldn't be cleaned and why (after the second attempt, assuming it hasn't been resolved), and explain receipt that the suit was only 3 months old.

If they say no, say that's ok and move on.

Takeaway_Addict

Put in reverse, if any of you were the person having a fit would you not feel a requirement to reimburse the OP for damaging their coat, whether intentionally or not?

There is the arguement as someone has said that the first aider is someone responsible for looking after the employers staff, as such the employer is liable (and to be fair, most good employers would be fine in replacing the jacket)