was wondering if any one else has had to deal with this problem. one of my crew was given pain killers for an injury to his shoulder. when he finished work last week on a Friday he went out for a quite drink. later on that night his wife phones do we know where he is. we try phoning, no answer. Saturday morning we have a no show and find the vehicle. down the road so contact police. we find our member of staff in hospital. he put himself out with a single beer with the drugs.
Wow, must have been some powerful pain meds or he just isn’t used to them.
Honestly, I think educating your employees about using pain medications would be a good start. He probably should not have been driving to begin with and def not a company truck if he was taking a narcotic pain medication. Also, combining alcohol with them is obviously not recommended.
You know your employee better than any of us. Do you think this was just a case of not realizing the effects of pain medication? Or do you think this is somebody who has addictive tendencies and who will continue to make poor choices?
Sounds to me like he did not realize what would happen and didn’t think it through. I’m guessing he won’t do that again, however you really dodged a bullet since he could very well have wrecked your truck and killed himself or others. You would not only have that on your conscious, but you would also be out of business with the lawsuit that would have followed.
Educate your employees and maybe make them sign some kind of paper stating that they understand the potential side effects of being under the influence of any controlled substance and agree to never operate a company vehicle while doing so or they will be terminated immediately.
It’s known as a synergistic effect, and is not confined to narcotics.
I’m familiar with that effect. Most pain meds use this to increase effectiveness, such as Vicodin: hydrocodone and acetaminophen, or Oxycodone: oxycontin and acetaminophen.
Also popular in things liked Ripped fuel from GNC back in the late 90’s before they banned it. If I recall it had willow bark, ephedra and caffiene before the ban. Together they boosted your metabolism (synergistically).
I don’t understand…he was driving a company vehicle after work to a bar and had some beers in combination with his prescription pain killers? Or he was using his own vehicle? Did he get in an accident? Sounds like if he was in pain to to the point of taking narcotics he should have hurried home, not to have a few drinks. I’m sure it says on the prescription bottle don’t mix wit booze and don’t drive and all that other good stuff. Does he have a propensity to not follow directions?
Cmon, a couple of heavy duty Bayer aspirin and a beer… what could possibly go wrong?
A guy I worked with when I was 19 or 20, had some military based ptsd and some pain issues was talking about his trip to the va hospital to pick up some meds one day. Used a vodka chaser with those meds and passed out in the back of the bus, picked up by the police who let him go. Was kind of a brag-fest at lunch. Next day he doesn’t make it to work, someone goes to check on him an they find him dead of an o.d.
no he decided to have a few beers on his way to work. in the middle of a split shift he wanted to do. He failed to turn up and a nights work was lost as the equipment we needed was on that truck. We have a no alcohol and drugs policy which we strictly enforce because of the related drinks and drugs problem in this area. He was a trusted employee who had worked with me for a long time. and did not drink, so there was never a problem till this moment. why he went for those beers we will never understand as he has no memory of it. and we have a blood annalist saying alcohol in his blood stream. If a accident had happened we would have been in major problems
A guy I worked with when I was 19 or 20, had some military based ptsd and some pain issues was talking about his trip to the va hospital to pick up some meds one day. Used a vodka chaser with those meds and passed out in the back of the bus, picked up by the police who let him go. Was kind of a brag-fest at lunch. Next day he doesn't make it to work, someone goes to check on him an they find him dead of an o.d.
its called self medication i have suffered from P.T.S.D. since 1989 I do not drink or take drugs as the first time will be the last time
Well I’m glad it turned out well since he didn’t really hurt himself (too much) and he didn’t wreck and kill sombody. Just one of life’s little lessons to learn from I guess.
I too am glad he is okay ad no one got hurt. Sounds like the situation could have turned out a lot worse for all parties involved. Call me old fashioned but that’s why I don’t drink.
Gotta give up that bottle as soon as you find out you have PTSD. Its probably one of the biggest handicaps you could set on yourself while trying to get better.
