A company has been ordered to pay compensation for forcing a driver to drive more than 600 kilometers in his vehicle after a heart attack.
The High Court of the Valencian Community heard the case and ordered the company to reinstate the man for violating his right to physical integrity.
The court thus confirmed the measure imposed by a court in Alicante, which had ruled in favor of the driver. In addition, he demanded payment of compensation of 30,000 euros.
The story happened on December 12, 2021, on a trip the man had to make to deliver goods in Germany and Sweden.
However, the driver suffered severe chest pains and was urgently taken to hospital Marien Hospital from Euskirchen (Germany) due to a heart attack.
Doctors observed the employee for two days and released him on the condition that he return to the medical center if the pain returned.
The driver suffered a heart attack and the company forced him to work after he left the hospital. Photo: Freepik
The company forced him to drive more than 600 kilometers
The man reported his situation to the company, but his superiors began telling him that they would not be able to afford his return trip to Spain if he did not have a medical disability.
In this way, the worker sent all the documents that the doctors at the hospital had given him, but his superiors began to have doubts.
In addition, superiors reminded him that he had to carry out layoffs in Sweden.
After leaving the medical center, the driver traveled to Strasbourg, France and undertook a 674 kilometer journey through the Netherlands.
There he met a colleague who picked him up and brought him back to his house, but only after about seven deliveries in Barcelona.
However, the man never imagined that the company would fire him upon his arrival and forced him to hand over the phone and cards in person after refusing to let his wife carry out this process.
The media company El Periódico said that this man filed a lawsuit and that the judges agreed with him, ensuring that the company did not guarantee his integrity after the heart attack.
They also questioned whether the driver’s superiors had forced him to continue working even though his health was not optimal.
“It was the company that did not take the appropriate measures for the immediate return, retained the employee and even tried to let him continue to provide services during his medical leave until another colleague brought him home,” Das explained Court.
The judges assured that the driver’s health was at serious risk as he was subjected to delays, trips and work assignments despite not being in optimal condition due to the company’s negligence.
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