Company doctor suspended, neglected help for sick employee

A company doctor was banned from his profession for three months because he had not given medical advice to a sick employee of a company who was supposed to perform other tasks.This prevented the employee from passing on the medical advice to his boss. The doctor "left the employee out in the cold and thereby increased the risk of damage to his health and possible incapacity for work", ruled the regional disciplinary court in Den Bosch.

The complaint was filed by a man who works in a metal coating company. He has to spray metal there but suffers from what is known as eosinophilic asthma. "With this asthma, you get symptoms from stimuli without being allergic. For example, you can become breathless from exhaust fumes, vapors, smoke and humid air. This condition in an employee cannot be ignored by an employer in the metal coating industry," the disciplinary court said.

The employee said he felt forced by his employer to do unhealthy work. According to him, saying no was not an option. So on January 16 last year, he went to the company doctor and asked for help. The doctor agreed with him and decided that the man should no longer do the work. He wanted to put this in writing, but that did not happen. On January 29, the employee asked where the medical judgment was. He then called in a lawyer, who contacted the company doctor on February 24, March 10 and March 13, but that also yielded no results. In May, June, July and August, the company doctor also failed to respond to questions from the disciplinary court.

It was only at the hearing before the disciplinary court last December that the company doctor replied. He said that he was overworked and could work less himself, but that was no excuse, according to the disciplinary judges. In this case, the company doctor should have arranged for a replacement. By failing to do so, the complainant had to continue "work that is irresponsible for his health given his illness".