Excellent and very important Q!
Yes, a worker has the right to decline medical treatment as long as the consent is informed, i.e., the worker gets information explaining the need for treatment and potential consequences of not getting it. The worker must also have the CAPACITY to give consent. A worker can’t give valid consent if he/she is woozy or mentally affected by the injury. Consent must also be voluntarily. In other words, you can’t exert any pressure on the worker to ignore an injury requiring emergency treatment or return to work and treat it after the shift.
Of course, the risk is that the worker will later deny that he/she refused treatment, claim that his/her consent was invalid or otherwise blame you for not getting the treatment he/she needed. The ways to protect yourself is to have a clear policy or procedure in place in case workers refuse medical treatment for a work injury that provides for:
*Having somebody on the scene notify the worker of the right to treatment and explain the potential dangers of refusing it
*Requiring the worker to sign a clearly written consent form acknowledging that he/she was offered and advised to seek medical treatment but voluntarily chose not to do so
*Creating a detailed record of the refusal that lists:
Date and time of the incident
Nature of the incident
Observation and findings of injury or illness
Worker’s level of consciousness
Vital signs
Recommended treatment or procedures
Documentation of the worker’s refusal
Documentation of your efforts to inform the worker of the dangers of refusing care
Witness statements and signatures
Last but not least, you need to recognize that the refusal of medical treatment has no impact on whether you must report the incident to the OHS agency, workers’ comp board, joint health and safety committee or union rep.
Thanks for the Q and I hope I answered it OK. Glenn