Ill due to work

[mackak17]

hi all,
basically my brother has recently became ill with pneumonia, and is in intensive care in hospital he is only 18. he works for Tesco and basically 3 nights in a row they made him to work through the night where the temperatures hit -6 (he works outside). He worked these long hours in the cold and due to working these hours he is now very ill. all tesco have said is they feel bad. not saying that i want to sue tesco or anything but is there anything that can be done so my brother gets compensation or anything

i no its quite vague but any help would be appreciated thanks

[sara3]

I didn't think being cold was a cause for pneumonia..

Causes of pneumonia

The micro-organisms that cause pneumonia may be present in your body for some time before you become ill. Alternatively you may breathe in droplets that are in the air from other people coughing and sneezing. You may also breathe in organisms from the environment (for example in Legionnaire's disease, a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophilia).

The most common bacterium that causes community-acquired pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae - this is called pneumococcal pneumonia. Bacteria that commonly cause hospital-acquired pneumonia (also called nosocomial pneumonia) include Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Viruses, including the influenza (flu) virus can also cause pneumonia.

Pneumonia may also be caused by inhaling substances, for example, vomit, a peanut, a chemical or smoke. It can also occur from allergy, for example. 'Farmers lung' is from an allergy to mouldy hay.

If children, particularly those under school age, get pneumonia, it's more often because of a virus than bacteria.

You are more likely to get pneumonia if you:

* are in poor health
* are over 65 or very young
* smoke (smoking damages your lungs and therefore makes it easier to get an infection)
* drink too much alcohol
* have a long-term illness, such as cancer - particularly if this affects your body's ability to fight infection
* have a weakened immune system, for example if you have HIV/AIDS

[sara3]

http://hcd2.bupa.co.u...html/Pneumonia.html#4

[Androcles]

I think you need to look at the circmstances first before you start the "I'll Sue" bit. What was his job - did it involve outside work overnight? Was he provided with proper protective clothing and get reasonable breaks, with the temperatures? Did he wear the protective clothing? What sick pay arrangements do they have, so he is covered whilst off? Was he ill when he went into work - sometimes people get sick anyway......? Tesco is a large company and has an HR Department which has policies on sickness etc. He or his representative (you?) should check with them his situation. and get the facts.

[mackak17]

the pneumonia that my brother had come on really quickly he didnt have a virus or a cold but working in the freezing conditions (so the docs said) have made him really ill, hes a young fit lad doesnt drink or smoke.

I just wondered if there was anything we can do as he worked all through the night in the freezing cold

[MarkRae]

As has been pointed out, cold is not a (direct) cause of pneumonia - it's a common misconception...

[mackak17]

so the answer is no then?

[MarkRae]

'Fraid so...

[grasscarp]

It is worth checking with the Health and Safety Executive. There seems to be guidelines for outdoor workings that they should have adequate protective clothing and the hours should be kept down and with adequate rest periods etc
http://www.hse.gov.uk.../faqs/temperature.htm
He may have a case against them.

[mackak17]

thankyou

[buildersmate]

I don't see how a young fit person ends up with pneumonia purely from working in cold conditions.
What exactly do you propose to sue Tesco for? - loss of earnings?
What arrangements do Tesco have regarding sick pay? - if his pay is covered he hasn't suffered much of loss, has he?

[mackak17]

no id didnt say i wanted to sue, the doctors have said it was because of him working out in the cold for all the hours that he is in hospital, yer he may get sick pay, but hes on a life support machine fighting foe his life because of the hours he had to do. so yer i would say he was at a loss

[joko]

being very cold does not usually cause people to have to fight for their life, unless they are stranded in the snow.

if the coldcaused him to be this ill he would have collapsed and had frostbite

i think the doctor probably meansthe cold has made him much worse.

many thousands of people work in very cold conditions all the time and dont have to fight for their lives.

what was he wearing?

[Twenty20]

If all you say is true, you would need to prove negligence on the part of the employer. However, I feel this would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Many, many people work outside at night and dont end up on a 'life support' machine.

I think you should perhaps be concentrating on your brother and not worrying about compensation.

[BagPussAA]

I am afraid that I agree with the other answers. Your brother would have to have been ill to start with as the cold would not have directly caused his problems. I used to work in a meat freezer for up to 6 hours at a time. That was about -22 degrees and I was fine.

[mackak17]

hello just thought id let you no i have spoken to a solicitor and he can get compensation because of the amount of hours he worked in the cold

thanks for your answers anyway