Can You Get Work Compensation for Heat Stroke?

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Can You Get Work Compensation for Heat Stroke?

Shanghai encounters another extremely hot day over the weekend. Also, all the remaining days of July will be sizzling hot, local weather authorities said.

Shanghai Daily reported, the city has experienced 18 scorching days with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees since summer officially arrived on May 30. Of these, there were eight days when the mercury topped 37 degrees and three days when it hit 40 degrees.

And it's not jus about Shanghai, the weirdly high temperature across the country has made the outdoor space a barbecue grill.

Since June this year, the average number of high-temperature days in China has reached 5.3 days, which is 2.4 days more than the same period in normal years, breaking the record for hottest weather since 1961.

Recently, a 32-year-old courier in Guangzhou suddenly collapsed while working in a warehouse, and was diagnosed with heat stroke after being transferred to the hospital. After more than a month of rescue, although it is not life-threatening, the courier is still in a coma due to severe brain damage.

Photo from Internet

Cases of heatstroke among Dabai (disease prevention personnel) have also occurred recently. Wearing the protection suit in a hot environment will prevent the body's heat from dissipating. Because of the inconvenience of putting on and taking off, personnel will reduce the number of times to drink water which will significantly increase the probability of heat stroke.

Photo: Xinmin

If a Dabai suffers heatstroke during the PCR test, will it be considered an occupational injury?

The state stipulates that workers who suffer from heat stroke from working in hot weather and are diagnosed with occupational diseases shall receive compensation for the work-related injury. To be identified as a work-related injury, it must be diagnosed by an occupational disease diagnosis agency and confirmed as "occupational heatstroke" when he is sent to a doctor.

International experts also suggested that employers should be doing everything possible to keep workplaces cool, including providing air-conditioning, proper hydration or just a simple as letting people wear more casual clothing.

“Employers can insist staff still wear their uniforms but where they can, they should consider relaxing some of the requirements, such as wearing a tie or a jacket, particularly if they are made from manmade fibres that don’t allow the skin to breathe,” says Jo Moseley, an employment lawyer at the law firm Irwin Mitchell. “Employers that can’t adapt their uniform policy need to think about how staff can remain cool in a different way.”

In a high-temperature environment, if you experience dizziness, headache, thirst, sweating, fatigue, palpitation, lack of concentration etc., you may be in the early stage of heatstroke. You should immediately move to a cool environment and seek medical aid. In addition, it is better to get some low sodium-containing beverages.

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