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01-12-2023, 06:33 AM
#62
Spikes the Koolaid
Joined APC: Jul 2015
Position: 737
Posts: 403
(I won't quote the section because I don't want to post proprietary language, but you can find the legally loose language in your manual)
Trap 1: It's called a technique, not a procedure.
Trap 2: In a single sentence, you are directed not to touch a wheel chair with a customer in it, but then to also be cautious when pushing them. So which is it?
Trap 3: It tells you to be cautious of jetbridge hazards like bumps, ramps, and grades. I, as an enterprising lawyer for the company trying to shift liability to an employee, could say "well, you lost control of the wheelchair going over the bump between two jetbridge sections. Clearly you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 4: You're supposed to back down the jetbridge when it has a steep slope, but what a steep slope is is not defined. I've almost never seen any wheelchair pushers backing down the jetbridge. "The passenger fell face first on the jetbridge floor. Clearly that means it had steep slope, so you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 5: You supposed to position the chair safely away from traffic areas, but again, those aren't defined. The whole jetbridge can be considered a traffic area, how can you possibly ever park the chair in the jetbridge and be in compliance with this "technique"?
The only sentence that doesn't have a massive legal loophole through which the company can throw you is the one telling you to use both hands. You're welcome to trust that the company will give you the benefit of the doubt, and I will concede that SWAPA recently stated that they don't have any records of pilots being held liable/getting OJI claims for pushing wheelchairs, but personally, I'm not willing to be the first to press to test the company's benevolence.
Just remember. Whenever you start coloring outside the lines of your job requirements, don't think like a good person, think like a lawyer.
01-12-2023, 06:55 AM
#63
Spikes the Koolaid
Joined APC: Jul 2015
Position: 737
Posts: 403
I don't think they can simply deny OJI/disability for mundane tasks around the workplace even if it's not part of your job. If you were instructed/trained to avoid something inherently dangerous then they might have a leg to stand-on. I might be more concerned about accidentally dumping the wheelchair pax on the floor and getting in trouble if the pax has a liability claim.
Of course if the company creates a climate where you're expected/encouraged to do tasks you're not trained for then they could be a world of liability hurt for NOT training you... that could apply if it's common for pilots to be helping out on the ramp. They have a duty to either train you or ensure that you don't do dangerous work.
I can assure you that Uber provides liability insurance for pax for all of their services, they could not possibly be so stupid as to rely on their pothead drivers for that. They may not insure the drivers for comprehensive, etc. So the driver might be screwed if he's doing uber on his regular private citizen insurance, but the pax will be fine.
This becomes even more nebulous when you add the possibility of OJI into the equation, especially at a company that is as ruthless as SWA about covering OJI claims. Basically, SWA self-funds both the OJI and Health Insurance programs here. At SWA, once you submit a claim into OJI, if it is rejected, it CANNOT be resubmitted into your Health Insurance, because the Health Insurance administrator will consider it an unresolved OJI claim (even though it was resolved as "rejected", and even though the money comes from the same place). This has cost pilots I know personally thousands of dollars over the year, leaving them to pay out of pocket for claims rejected by OJI for reasons as mundane as "I don't believe that back injury could have happened getting out of your flight deck chair, even though the doctor we sent you to to get checked out said that your back injury happened getting out of your flight deck chair" (real example).
I've said this before in other posts, but what do they put on your board when they authorize you to get yourself to the hotel? "CAB AUTHORIZED". Not Lyft, not Uber. What does the contract say? Taxi. I do not take a Lyft or Uber unless the company schedules the pickup for me, which is an easy process. If scheduling says "just take a cab", I say I will only take a cab or if they don't want me to wait for 30 minutes in a taxi queue (extending my duty time), I tell them I will take a Lyft ONLY if they send me a Lyft link. They do so, you click on the link, and now you're covered.
Otherwise, the company will just say "we authorized commercial transportation to get to the hotel. Not our fault you chose the pot head Lyft driver instead of using the hotel transportation or going over to the taxi stand."
If the company can find a loophole to explain away the severity of your injury, they absolutely will 100% of the time.
01-13-2023, 05:15 AM
#64
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2017
Position: CRJ9 CA
Posts: 4,083
Here are the problems with this:
(I won't quote the section because I don't want to post proprietary language, but you can find the legally loose language in your manual)
Trap 1: It's called a technique, not a procedure.
Trap 2: In a single sentence, you are directed not to touch a wheel chair with a customer in it, but then to also be cautious when pushing them. So which is it?
Trap 3: It tells you to be cautious of jetbridge hazards like bumps, ramps, and grades. I, as an enterprising lawyer for the company trying to shift liability to an employee, could say "well, you lost control of the wheelchair going over the bump between two jetbridge sections. Clearly you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 4: You're supposed to back down the jetbridge when it has a steep slope, but what a steep slope is is not defined. I've almost never seen any wheelchair pushers backing down the jetbridge. "The passenger fell face first on the jetbridge floor. Clearly that means it had steep slope, so you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 5: You supposed to position the chair safely away from traffic areas, but again, those aren't defined. The whole jetbridge can be considered a traffic area, how can you possibly ever park the chair in the jetbridge and be in compliance with this "technique"?
The only sentence that doesn't have a massive legal loophole through which the company can throw you is the one telling you to use both hands. You're welcome to trust that the company will give you the benefit of the doubt, and I will concede that SWAPA recently stated that they don't have any records of pilots being held liable/getting OJI claims for pushing wheelchairs, but personally, I'm not willing to be the first to press to test the company's benevolence.
Just remember. Whenever you start coloring outside the lines of your job requirements, don't think like a good person, think like a lawyer.
(I won't quote the section because I don't want to post proprietary language, but you can find the legally loose language in your manual)
Trap 1: It's called a technique, not a procedure.
Trap 2: In a single sentence, you are directed not to touch a wheel chair with a customer in it, but then to also be cautious when pushing them. So which is it?
Trap 3: It tells you to be cautious of jetbridge hazards like bumps, ramps, and grades. I, as an enterprising lawyer for the company trying to shift liability to an employee, could say "well, you lost control of the wheelchair going over the bump between two jetbridge sections. Clearly you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 4: You're supposed to back down the jetbridge when it has a steep slope, but what a steep slope is is not defined. I've almost never seen any wheelchair pushers backing down the jetbridge. "The passenger fell face first on the jetbridge floor. Clearly that means it had steep slope, so you were in violation of this 'technique'".
Trap 5: You supposed to position the chair safely away from traffic areas, but again, those aren't defined. The whole jetbridge can be considered a traffic area, how can you possibly ever park the chair in the jetbridge and be in compliance with this "technique"?
The only sentence that doesn't have a massive legal loophole through which the company can throw you is the one telling you to use both hands. You're welcome to trust that the company will give you the benefit of the doubt, and I will concede that SWAPA recently stated that they don't have any records of pilots being held liable/getting OJI claims for pushing wheelchairs, but personally, I'm not willing to be the first to press to test the company's benevolence.
Just remember. Whenever you start coloring outside the lines of your job requirements, don't think like a good person, think like a lawyer.
01-13-2023, 01:49 PM
#66
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2010
Position: DOWNGRADE COMPLETE: Thanks Gary. Thanks SWAPA.
Posts: 6,803
01-13-2023, 03:04 PM
#67
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,264
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