If you have a medical condition what can an employer do if you should have a seizure can he give you medicine?

Question

1 if you have a seizure on a Job what can an employer do

2 can employer if he not a doctor give you medication what does the law say can the employer dump down a bunch a pills down your thoat

3 I do carry a medical alert and I don't carry money or credit cards my sociol security card

4 my doctors name and telephone number I carry no private information

5 is there anything you can think I can do to protect myself

6 another I do is I don't take my medicine to work with me to provent my employer from giveing to me is there anything else I could of do to protect myself

7 this employer did not call 911 for 3 1/2 hours infact my mother almost called the police deptament and filled kipnapped charges causes he would not help me.

8 then he seached my bags went three pockets and took advanges to say the least

Answer 1

First of all Federal law prohibits any person to give another person a prescribed medication, with just a few exceptions, unless certified as a Medical provider (i.e Medications Technician, EMT, Paramedic, Nurse, or Doctor).

The exceptions are that an individual who is in direct relation to the patient (i.e. mother, father, brother, sister etc...) Also anyone who is certified in First Aid are now trained to "assist" a person in taking their own medications, such as nitro, glucose, epi-pen, etc....

EMT's, Paramedics and Nurses work under the orders of a Medical Physician, and sometimes work by either direct orders, or a written protocol.

Also a Doctor, even if you tell them you don't want a certain medication, can still give it to you in certain circumstances. These being if you are considered to not be in your right mind, and you do not have a living will or medical power of attorney to make these decisions for yourelf. Also if the procedure is needed to treat a life threatening problem that was incited by you (i.e. Overdose, attemted suicide) Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, and EMT's have also had cases when a Patient was alert and in their right mind, to say they did not want a certain medication or procedure, then go unresponsive, or have a decreased level of consciousness. At this point if the patient does not have a living will, or medical power of attorney, the medical providers can state that they are bound by law to provide life substaining treatment, it is called a "duty to act"

As for your employer dumping pills down your throat, well this could be considered Assault, Battery, and even poisoning. The best thing the employer, or anyone around, to do when something like this happens is to call EMS.

The best thing for anyone to do that has a pre-existing medical condition is to carry on them all pertainent information such as name, address, phone number, DOB, next of kin, medical conditions, medications you take, and any allergies. Also if there are any special wishes that you want carried out then speak with the local hospital about filling out a Living Will, and appointing a Medical Power of attorney, both of which are legal binding. Another thing is a DNR order which is a legal document that your doctor must sign that states that in the event of a cardiac arrest you do not want to be resuscitated. Hope this helps, and good luck.

Answer 2

1. The employer can call 911.
2. Being a business owner myself, I can only tell you what I would do and reasonably expect other employers would do. No intelligent person would try to force feed pills to someone having a seizure. An employer is not going to try and medically treat someone in distress, if for no other reason than liability issues.
3 & 4. While it's very good that you wear a medical alert bracelet, I don't understand why you are not carrying other identification. You need to carry a license or ID card, especially if the medics need to verify the name on your bracelet is you. If you are not carrying an ID or money because you are afraid of it being stolen if you should have a seizure, you need to work somewhere you feel safer.
5. You should wear the bracelet, carry identification, and inform your employer of your medical condition. Provide your employer with your doctor's name, phone number, and the names of any medication you are on. This is important for your employer to be able to pass this info on to medical personell if needed.
You sound like you are really worried about your employer doing something bad to you. Why do you feel so nervous? People call 911 for others in distress, they don't try to treat them with no medical training.

Also, if you don't take your pills to work with you, then what do you think your employer is going to be "dumping down your throat?"

Answer 3

By most company policies (and the law), unless someone has medical training or express written permission and instruction from a physician, the acceptable thing to do would to call 911. Why would you try to pass medication to someone having a seizure? Unless it is injected or a suppository, you can't pass the med until the seizure is complete, and by then, the person would be able to medicate themselves, right??

I would get a doctor to write an order to your employer stating your medical condition, and what to do in the event of a seizure. A doctor is going to tell the employer to call 911, and if he doesn't, that is going to be what your company tells your boss to do.

I don't understand why you would need to protect yourself. They can't fire you due to your condition, and they are not going to interfere with anything if you have one - they will call 911. So what is the thing you need protecting from? If I am missing it, please let me know.

Answer 4

I'm not a lawyer, so check with them first before trusting anything posted here, but my understanding is that:

If you have informed your employer of your condition and they accept the responsibility of helping you with your medication, then it would be the same as if you had a friend who had agreed to watch out for you while you were hanging out... the main fear of liability comes from your actions AFTER you're given the medication -- if the dosage is a little off or if complications arise, are you likely to turn around and sue your employer (or friend, for that matter) because of this. It happens more than you'd think, so most employers will either require you to sign a waiver of liability before hand or refuse to take part and promise only to call 911 and follow their lead after explaining the situation.

If you have a good relationship with your employer, I would give them a notarized document explaining exactly what they should do with full contact info for your doctor so that they can call for verification... and if they ask for a liability waiver, realize that they are acting as their lawyer tells them to, not as an indictment of you.

Answer 5

By law your employer can administer your medication but there is a little catch. Unless he is a certified first aid card carrier, he can be held liable if something were to go wrong. The only thing you can to is to give someone at your employer a limited power of attorney solely for the purpose of administiring your medicine. If the condition is that serious I would stash at least 1 dosage at your place of employment.

Answer 6

If you ask someone at work to do it for you, they would,

Normally they will call 911 and let them do everything unless you have talked to them before hand and had a plan, normally in writting on what you want them to do.

If they have no idea of what is happening, they will just call 911.

If you have a condition, you should have told your work, your doctors name and number, exactly what medications you take and what is good to do if something happenes.

Answer 7

Unless you have asked your employer to give you your meds in an emergency, they not only can't, but would be guilty of assault. Even if your employer is a licensed medical professional, they can't give you medication if you have told them not to beforehand.

Answer 8

Call 911. Anything else incurs the risk of liability.

Answer 9

Your employer should not do Anything other than apply First Aid and call an ambulance!!!! Period!!! Seriously!!!

Answer 10

If you suffer seizures then you should regulary take your medication to avoid having seizures.