my wife told me that there is a lady at work that has staff infection she told her manager. The manger told h/r and they said that they can not make her go home or to a doctor if some one gets the staff infection can they sue the company?
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sure you can...you can sue anybody for anything. -
If the employer has comp, comp will likely be the sole remedy (i.e. no common law right of recovery). If claiming comp, one must establish they contracted the MRSA/staph at work. This is not legal advice
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Most staph infections are not MRSA, and I don't believe it's something that is transferred airborne- you'd have to get in physical contact with her wound (I assume it's bandaged or covered somehow). Staph is a common skin bacteria. It would be reasonable for the woman not to handle anything that others have to touch, and if your wife is concerned, buy a bottle of the hand sanitizer and wash her hands. She could, of course, follow the woman around with a can of Lysol spray.
It's not like tuberculosis.
My 2 cents.Comment
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She needs to talk to Human Resources.
Depending on what kind of work the employee is doing her condition may be risk to the customer AND the employee.Comment
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I have been on offshore oil rigs that had a staff out break......... ended up shutting the rig down for quarantine. I would say wash wash and then wash some moreComment
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Originally posted by Bill in San Jose View Post
hate to say it but........ That is untrue. In fact, most "staph" cases turn out to be MRSA. But you are right with it NOT being airborne.
Any anti-bac soap will kill the germs. You wife would have to come in contact with the wound itself or any fluids from the infected person. Most people carry staph and mrsa in their nose. It is not something to mess around with. Just for safety I would go to CVS and get a bottle of Hepi-clense. Shower with that a few days in a row. 10 bucks could save your wife from a outbreak.Comment
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It seems to me that the employer allowing this woman to continue working and putting others at risk is negligent.Comment
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I would assume that they would have a hard time proving where one would actually obtained a staph related infection. Now, if it was tb or something, that's most likely a different story. Normally, HR folks know where the boundaries are and do what's in the companies best interest. My wife had this same situation come up at work and her HR department did the same thing.....which was nothing!
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney, but I was one in a school play once.Comment
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We have a problem with Staph on one of our Siesmic crews working in Alabama. It is not airborne, but you can get it from anything...Pens, pencils, staplers, whatever.......Tell your wife to keep hand sanitizer in with her and use it all the time and stay away from the infected person. We don't let our employees come back to work until the staph is healed up.Comment
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My dad currently has staph in his leg and we just had a baby. The doctor told him to stay as far away as possible. It's killing him to have a new grandson that he has only seen in pictures. I know staph is not something you want and the employer should agree to a leave and apply for disability for the employee. It must not be too bad yet though because they are still at work. My dad was ordered by the doctor to stay home and stay off the leg for 6-8 weeks.Comment
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What kind of work?
What kind of work is the "infected" doing?Comment
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I was wrong, and stand corrected. Thanks.Originally posted by cantexduck View Post
MRSA infections are becoming more prevalent in healthcare settings. According to CDC data, the proportion of infections that are antimicrobial-resistant has been growing. In 1974, MRSA infections accounted for two percent of the total number of staph infections; in 1995 it was 22 percent; and in 2004 it was 63 percent.
Most MRSA infections appear to occur in healthcare settings, rather than out in the community. The 2007 JAMA study found that about 85 percent of all invasive MRSA infections were connected with healthcare settings. In contrast, about 14 percent of reported infections were considered to be community-associated, which means that the infection occurred in people without documented evidence of risks connected to a healthcare setting.
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I don't know about the legal side of it,but I've had MRSA- and it sucks big hairy...well you get the picture.
If the boss wont agree to a leave just tell your wife to stay away from anything and everything this person may have used...don't even pee there! Hold it till lunch and go to a wendy's or something. It takes FOREVER to get rid of and can get really painful. I was on crutches for a week and missed 3 weeks of Volleyball season when it infected my ankle. Eventually ended up in the ER due to the pain and had to have emergency surgery to lance an infected spot and had to have my blood filtered.
I know my case was somewhat extreme but it is not something to take lightly.
If the boss won't approve a sick leave then tell your wife to be really careful about hygiene and deep clean anything she uses until it is cleared up.
And if she thinks she has a spider bite - get it looked at. People commonly mistake the first stage of MRSA for a spider bite.
Sorry if that was too graphicComment
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thanks people,there are alot of people worred,but afraid to say anything for fear of down sizing in the company,she works at a call center in round rockComment
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