The Team Leader in the area shut off the line and I immediately jumped on the line to see why the line had stopped. The Team Leader was already on the line and she was pregnant. We had exposed ourselves to the vapors from the paint booth. I went inside the paint booth and shut off the paint. I called the Maintenance Manager. I sent the Team Leader to the Medical Department and I sent the workers from the line to the Rework area.
Any time the line was shut down, red lights were automatically turned on which flashed in the VP's office. Soon the VP was standing beside me, wanting to know why the line was shut down. Maintenance fixed the problem and I re-started the line. The VP and I made the decision that it was safe to return to work. I heard through the rumor mill that there were people upset because I sent them to Rework, but had sent the Team Leader to the Medical Department.
The following day four women from the line called in, each one claiming illness from being exposed to "paint fumes". As the Team Leader and I had been more exposed than anyone and since neither of us had any ill effects, I decided that there was no basis for the claims. All four women continued calling in and filed for Workers Compensation. The Company denied their claims. The case lasted for a lengthy period.
One of the women claimed that she was pregnant and the "paint fumes" had caused her to lose the baby. The other three women claimed total disability and that they were unable to do anything, including companionship with their spouses. One day a sister-in-law of the first woman came to my office and said, "I think you should know that she had an abortion because she and her husband didn't want the baby." I called the Company's P.I. and he was able to ascertain that she did indeed have an abortion rather than a miscarriage. The P.I. was able to film two of the other three women carrying huge packages while Christmas shopping, going bowling, and out drinking and dancing. He was never able to find anything of that nature about the fourth woman.
Our Company attorney spent several days preparing the Team Leader and me for our testimony. The four women had engaged an attorney to represent all of them. At the hearing, the attorney for the four women was questioning me about the "paint fumes" and I corrected him and said that they were "vapors, not fumes." In a smart-aleck tone, he asked, "Are you an expert?" I answered, "I know the difference between vapors and fumes; I breathed the vapors; I went inside the booth without any protection and shut off the paint." I saw our attorney smiling.
He asked, "And were you dressed the way you are today?" I answered, "Yes, except that I was wearing safety shoes." He asked, with a note of incredulity, "You dress this way every day?" I answered, "Yes." (I had been instructed to answer each question as simply as possible.) He asked, "Have you ever worn the outfit you're wearing today to work?" I answered, "Yes, four weeks ago." He said, "You have a very good memory; I don't think most people would remember what they wore a month ago." I said, "It was four weeks ago, not a month; that week was my blue and burgundy Aigner week." He asked, "And what were you wearing the day of the paint fumes?" I answered, "On the day I breathed the paint VAPORS, it was my black and taupe Aigner week so I was wearing black slacks, a black Aigner sweater with a taupe-colored A on the left side, with a taupe-colored jacket and black Red Wing safety shoes." I saw our attorney smiling.
The remainder of my testimony was brief. On his re-direct questioning our attorney said, "It certainly is fascinating about your wardrobe; how is it that you keep track so well and what is an Aigner?" The opposing attorney objected, but he was overruled, and I answered, "Oh, I have my calendar right here which shows what I was wearing; Etienne Aigner is the designer," as I pointed to the blue "A" on my burgundy sweater. I opened my folder which I had on my lap and produced the calendar which documented all of my wardrobe as well as the dates and times of the paint booth incident.
I didn't know what reason the opposing attorney had for asking about my attire but our attorney later said that he wanted to confuse me about specific times and dates.
Our attorney questioned the first woman and she said that the "paint fumes" had caused her to have a miscarriage. The attorney then supplied the date, time, and place where she had had an abortion performed. When confronted, she actually said that she was just so worried what might be wrong with the baby that she had to do it. Her case was dismissed.
When the films were shown of the two women that the P.I. had caught carrying heavy shopping bags and other activities which violated their alleged restrictions, their cases were dismissed. Although the Company had found no similar evidence about the fourth woman, we believed that hers was not a legitimate claim. Her case was also dismissed because neither I nor the Team Leader experienced any problems and we were more exposed than anyone else to the vapors. The Team Leader had delivered a healthy baby.
I quickly heard "how horrible" the Company was for sending out a Private Investigator to "spy" on them and, of course, they blamed me! There was an "anonymous" complaint filed with OSHA about the "paint fumes", naming me in particular. In the finding, the OSHA representative noted my "quick response" and "disregard for my personal safety" in jumping on the line and going into the paint booth to turn off the line.
Recently my friend Patty asked if I still wore the same colors all week long and I said, "My closet still looks like a Salvation Army store with all the clothes organized by color!"
1 comment:
So WTH is the difference between fumes and vapors? ML
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