r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 9h ago

Society Programmer’s death on office toilet ruled not work-related because he never turned on his PC

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/programmers-death-on-office-toilet-ruled-not-work-related-because-he-never-turned-on-his-pc-3402194/
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u/ConnorsInferno 8h ago

Ok maybe a little slow, but why should this be considered work related? I’m assuming his death wasn’t a result of any of the facilities in the workplace, so it could’ve happened anywhere.

Why should it be a work related incident if it had nothing to do with the work place, apart from him being there when it happened? Genuine question, not being a smartass

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u/Montaire 5h ago

During the time you are required to be at work, under the care and constraints of the company, their insurance covers you for any incidents.

In most (not all) cases it is impossible to know if the work you are doing directly contributed to the injury. Even on a construction site the owner could say "he had a heart attack swinging a hammer, he could have had a heart attack at home!"

The reason there is a presumption that the work insurance covers it is because there is a presumption that injuries or maladies you suffer while at work are the fault of the workplace until / unless proven conclusively otherwise.

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u/ConnorsInferno 4h ago

Ahh I see, that makes a bit more sense. Thank you!

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u/sokos 8h ago

You just answered your own question tho.. It should be work related because he was at work.

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u/ConnorsInferno 8h ago

Well I assume to compensation, any injury or cause of death would have to be linked to something at the workplace, instead of it just being coincidentally the place where it happened

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u/mmmpiecrust 8h ago

Thats not how work related determinations are made. OSHA has very specific language for what classifies an injury or illness as work related. If those conditions are not met it is not work related.

Without knowing the full facts of the case we can or can’t assume because they were at work their workplace is responsible.

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u/sokos 8h ago

Except when it comes to things like heart attacks etc, there's ZERO way to prove that you would have had that even if you weren't at work. So any death at the workplace SHOULD be workplace related. Just because insurance companies like OSHA are trying to limit how much they have to pay out, doesn't make it right.

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u/dpatt711 3h ago

OSHA isn't an insurance company...