termination from ups

[brown.2859]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I was recently terminated from UPS - the whole story ensues:

I was lifting a box up onto metal rollers. The box was about an 8 inch WxLxH cube, about 40 pounds.. and it fell off the rolls and bent my wrist backwards causing instant pain. I couldn't pick anything up following that and filed an injury report.
I was permitted to go home, and the next day talked to the boss - came in and met with them, and they gave me 3 days off. I came back after the third day for a second meeting and they said to call them tomorrow before coming in to see how it is going. I went to the doctor (despite signing a form saying I would let them know before going) and turned out I had a fractured wrist. I called in, and the boss told me he would call back. I fell asleep waiting for his call, (i worked 3rd shift) and when I awoke the next morning I had a next day air mail message notifying me of my immediate termination due to no call no show. (i did tell him on the phone i did visit the doctor and my wrist was fractured)
I don't need to tell you the next part - but I called and questioned why, when he had failed to call me back - and they said there was not anything they could do..
ya.. I'm curious if I'm in the wrong or them?
I know I signed the paper but I just went to the doctor on my own dime, not theirs, so I didn't see why it mattered really..

 

[pattytx]

Aren't most UPS drivers/loaders union? Have you contacted your union steward? Why wasn't there a report of injury filed? You should have been sent to the doctor immediately. There's just a lot of in this post that I wouldn't expect from such a large unionized employer.

 

[commentator]

Were you classified as a seasonal worker, or are you really a full time hired in UPS worker? How long have you been there?

Going to the doctor on your own dime was not what you agreed to. They usually want to accompany you to the doctor,(one of their choosing) follow up on work related injuries very closely.

In this case you have done two things either of which would be termination worthy. First, the no-call-no show issue, which is usually instant termination by company policy, by every standard.

Just because you had told your supervisor the previous day that you had been to the doctor and you had a broken wrist did not mean you were exempt from the company call in policy. You assumed he would know you were sick and were not coming in? They can and will terminate on the first violation of this policy as you very likely signed an agreement to this when you went to work.

Going with a work related injury to your own doctor on your own time after being told specifically not to and agreeing not to was also no brainer. You had nothing to gain by doing this.

Because of likely liability issues, they have procedures for treating on the job injuries. If you had told them during the time you were off, I bet they would have been willing to let you go to an approved doctor whenever you wanted to. In any case, how were they in the wrong?