Help making a decision?

[young_]

So I'm in a weird spot. I just got back from the doctor and he told me I was a textbook example of chronic carbon monoxide exposure. Headache, nausea, dizziness, chest pains, all symptoms I've been experiencing for a while now, they had done some blood work last week the last time I went for "general sick feeling", and sure enough, my blood work is consistent with prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide. He asked me if I'm consistently in an environment where things are burned, smoke, cars, whatever. Well it just so happens that the restaurant I work in burns charcoal indoors. We use the charcoal to burn whole logs on our pit. I'm constantly breathing in smoke throughout my shift at work. We have an industrial ventilation system but it's not enough. Smoke often wanders as far as the dining room. I've worked there for over four years now, and my symptoms have grown worse recently. Last week I didn't have a single day off and worked doubles to cover the day manager's shift since he was on vacation. The doctor believes this to be the cause of my symptoms getting worse so fast.

Now I'm faced with a decision. Obviously, I'm leaving. Do I leave immediately (2 weeks notice) without having found another job, or do I stick it out until I can find another job?

My girlfriend has a job and can help to provide financial support if need be.

 

[Jeffhondadc5]

That's a tough decision..

If she makes enough to support you both till you find another job then why not? Have to think about your health as well.

On the other hand if she doesn't make enough, I would stay till something else pops up.

 

[lethal6]

If it is something at work making you sick and you can absolutely prove it then file for workman's comp. If you can't directly without a doubt prove it filing wont help you.

 

[young_]

They did some blood work today "carbon monoxide profile" something, and I'll get a copy of those results when they come back, and that will help, the only other thing I would need done is a carbon monoxide test at the restaurant, the only issue with that, is that they would HAVE to test when the smoke is on for the pit. We don't load the pit until 6:30 pm. I'm not sure if we can choose the time to have a test done. I've spoken with my boss before stressing my concerns about the smoke and he said we've been tested before by the gas company and all is fine. But again, we were not tested when the smoke was on.

 

[mikekh10a]

Health over wealth. I say just get out of there asap and look for another job asap. Time is of the essence.

 

[EJackBauer8]

Get out man, the way you talk about that place it isn't worth the toll on your body.

 

[buzzbombtom]

stay, go buy a CO tester and see if it goes ape s**t, if so then maybe sit down with the owner group and tell them whats happening, you are a pretty valuable member of their team, they would hate to lose you, and i am sure would hate the bad press from this as well.... its something that you can recover from, there is a very good chance they have NO IDEA whats happening in there, its a small company and CO is "the silent killer".. i know out here in cali we have to track the levels for that kind of thing... do not make any rash decisions, if you get fired for "whistle blowing" you are protected by state laws and national laws. but a problem can not be solved if no one is aware of the problem.

 

[TokyoSkies]

stay, go buy a CO tester and see if it goes ape s***, if so then maybe sit down with the owner group and tell them whats happening, you are a pretty valuable member of their team, they would hate to lose you, and i am sure would hate the bad press from this as well.... its something that you can recover from, there is a very good chance they have NO IDEA whats happening in there, its a small company and CO is "the silent killer".. i know out here in cali we have to track the levels for that kind of thing... do not make any rash decisions, if you get fired for "whistle blowing" you are protected by state laws and national laws. but a problem can not be solved if no one is aware of the problem.

Right on the money. This is what I'd do.

 

[HeX]

Workers Comp Case! If you're not being regularly exposed to any other environment that may contribute to such symptoms, then contact the corporate headquarters and file a workers compensation case. If they give you a hassle, find a WC attorney. It being a restaurant that regularly uses that coal, itll be nearly impossible for them to cover it up. For your sake, I hope Georgia's employment laws arent as awful as Florida's. If your job is legitimate theyll want to handle things easily. I would be inclined to think they wouldnt want to risk you publicizing via local media that a local restaurant has been slowly killing an employee (dramatizing a bit). As others said, poor health isnt worth a paycheck.

 

[ImportFan1]

Workers Comp Case! .

This. I talked to my brother's gf who worked at a company that worked on the company side of the workers comp cases. She said this is definitely a case of workers comp.

EDIT: She said that exposure can be hard to prove but it sounds like that plus an issue for OSHA as well. Just file a claim and they will take care of measuring the CO levels. As long as AL works like Ohio does.

 

[HeX]

This. I talked to my brother's gf who worked at a company that worked on the company side of the workers comp cases. She said this is definitely a case of workers comp.

EDIT: She said that exposure can be hard to prove but it sounds like that plus an issue for OSHA as well. Just file a claim and they will take care of measuring the CO levels. As long as AL works like Ohio does.

I forgot about OSHA. You may be able to contact them first and go from there.

 

[young_]

For whatever reason I can't upload a photo of the smoke through tapatalk. I'll try and get one through photobucket.

 

[young_]

See the smoke by the lights? It doesn't stay like this all night but it's like that for a little bit after the smoke is started on the pit.

 

[ImportFan1]

Yeah dude. File a claim tomorrow

 

[Failsafe88]

File claim

 

[young_]

The only thing about that is..

The general manager is my girlfriend's brother. I live with her + his parents. It's a family restaurant and this is one of two locations. I just feel like it will stir up a bunch of s**t. I almost want to leave and then inform them of the dangers after the fact, so I wouldn't be "threatening" them. But then they could easily just keep things the way they are and someone else could be in my position one day. I'll wait for the bloodwork they took today to come back and go from there. In a situation like this, would my pictures hold as evidence to the smoke inhalation?

 

[EJackBauer8]

I think your blood work would as well including your work schedule, so they don't think that you were doing anything else related to smoke (CO2) inhalation.

 

[buzzbombtom]

stay, go buy a CO tester and see if it goes ape s***, if so then maybe sit down with the owner group and tell them whats happening, you are a pretty valuable member of their team, they would hate to lose you, and i am sure would hate the bad press from this as well.... its something that you can recover from, there is a very good chance they have NO IDEA whats happening in there, its a small company and CO is "the silent killer".. i know out here in cali we have to track the levels for that kind of thing... do not make any rash decisions, if you get fired for "whistle blowing" you are protected by state laws and national laws. but a problem can not be solved if no one is aware of the problem.

this or potentially ruin your family. seems pretty f**king simple.

 

[joe7987]

First thing to remember - You ARE replaceable. It's a crappy fact of life, but just about everyone in the work force is replaceable. I work in a multimillion dollar lab, with people who bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and it has been shown that even they are replaceable.

That said, be very political in how you deal with this situation. Make absolute sure you have the proof you need before moving forward. Don't announce to your boss the steps you're planning on taking until you have to. It's always easy to find a reason to fire somebody. He won't need to say it's because of this. Don't give him a reason to think you're going to make things difficult for him or his business. If so, he'll find a reason to fire you before that happens, something completely unrelated to CO.

I agree with Tom in getting a CO tester, and testing it yourself, first. After you've done that, you can have an official inspector come in and confirm what you already know. Then, once all your bases are covered, you can consider filing for workman's comp.

If you decide to not go the workman's comp route, and you just want to find another job with minimal hassle, stick with your current job until you find a new one. You've been exposed to it over 4 years. Another month or so isn't going to be great, but it's highly unlikely it'll lead to any more severe damage than it has already done. Another year or so, sure, but a little bit more won't kill you. This way you can ensure you find another position, and not have to worry about the financial stress of being jobless. That's my opinion, anyway.

Your pictures will not be sufficient evidence. They are good supplemental evidence, but insufficient. If it were me, I would say that those pictures aren't the norm. Somebody didn't clean out the grease the night before and a lot of smoke came up. Then I'd point to the industrial ventilation system and say that we've worked hard to make sure the air is clean for our employees. That'd be my defense. You would have no way to prove it was a regular occurrence, and your employer would look like he'd taken steps to ensure your safety.

 

[young_]

Just an update, I had received a job offer from Walmart and chose not to take it. They wanted to give me a lower starting pay and less hours than I'm currently getting. I confronted my boss with the blood work and explained the situation to him. He has already purchased a new pit that will be a more "contained" smoking system. (No charcoal), and it should be here by the end of the month. We have taken multiple steps to reduce the amount of smoke exposure to employees, including waiting until the end of the night to put smoke on, only cooking when we absolutely have to, etc. I've been focusing on cardio in my exercise and I've been feeling better. I go back for a follow up blood test to check my oxygen levels in a few weeks.

I am currently pursuing my high school diploma through a private homeschooling program, so that is my main priority now. (I dropped out a while back). Once I obtain that, I will be looking for a better job. A career in fact.

Thanks for all of your input and suggestions. Just figured I would update you guys!