Giving medical advice during injury or accident investigations
Is anyone out there comfortable giving medical advice to an employee during these investigations, or would you just advise them to see a doctor? I have no medical experience and always default them to see a doctor, but I'm curious if any safety pros out there have the background to provide advice.
Obviously this would be minor injuries like a strain that doesn't necessarily require immediate attention, but still needs addressing.
Comments (4)
Even my first aid kits are "self-service" so I won't have to recommend a particular OTC pain med to avoid the liability. If my employee doesn't want to go to the doctor, we use a tele-med nurse line to triage their injury and recommend next action.
Don’t do it. Send them to their doctor.
Anything above minor first aid, I would say no. Unless you have a medical background, the risk outweighs the reward. If you recommend something and it doesn't work/makes things worse, that could open up your company to a lawsuit. Even if you recommend something in a casual conversation, it can be misinterpreted in court. "The Safety Representative required me to do this" - When in reality it was a small recommendation.