Visitor Question

Passed out at work because supervisor wouldn’t provide coverage…

Submitted By: Harley (Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A.)

At 3 pm on on Friday I went into work at my job as a manager at a restaurant. At 3:30 pm I started throwing up blood. I called my boss and asked her to come in and cover me so that I could go to the hospital, she would not. So then I called my area coach (district manager) to ask him, he did not answer his phone. I texted him, told him the situation and asked him to please find me coverage immediately, he never responded.

Later that night around 7 pm, still at work, I texted my area coach again, telling him that I felt light headed and dizzy, and that I was going to pass out and needed coverage immediately. He still did not respond. I passed out at 8:15 pm and was out for 10 to 15 minutes. My crew members that were on duty called an ambulance and a customer who was a nurse came to the back of the restaurant to assist me. I got rushed to the ER and was there for 8 hours.

My boss thinks that they are not at fault in any way, and I want to sue them. Do I have a case for a negligence lawsuit outside of workers’ compensation? Shouldn’t they have provided coverage and allowed me to go to the hospital? Thank you.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Harley,

While the negligent actions of upper management appear to be deplorable, you are bound by Pennsylvania workers’ compensation statutes. If you were so ill you should have simply left work and either driven to the hospital yourself, had a crew member drive you, or called an ambulance.

It’s difficult to understand why you wouldn’t have simply gone to the hospital immediately after you began to vomit blood. Vomiting blood, by any description, is a medical emergency.

Unless your crew members were totally incompetent and would have presented a serious physical danger to themselves or to the safety and welfare of restaurant patrons, you really have no legitimate excuse for not seeking emergency medical care at the point you began to vomit blood.

If you were worried about being fired for leaving your post, and actually were fired for leaving, you may well have had the basis of a wrongful termination of employment case against the company. Unfortunately, under the facts you present, you have little recourse other than to file a workers’ compensation claim.

Learn more here: What Happens If You Sue Your Employer

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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