Nurse loses bid for compensation after a bat incident in Ottawa hospital ruins her honeymoon

A nurse who had to cancel part of her honeymoon after an encounter with a bat failed her application to receive financial compensation for missed travel arrangements. The nurse met the bat in the psychiatric unit of the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital in September 2019. The Ontario Nurses’ Association filed a grievance with the Ottawa Hospital on her behalf. The Ministry of Labour arbitration hearing report was released on March 22, 2022. “Security footage shows a large bird-like object flying back and forth in an empty hallway as a woman (presumably the grievor) opens the door and enters,” the adjudicator, Lorne Slotnick, wrote in his report. “The woman, spotting the bat immediately, covers her head and cowers on the floor, crawling to the other end of the room as the bat flies around the room.” The nurse received a scratch from the encounter and went to the emergency department for treatment. The emergency department staff and the nurse decided to pursue post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies, even if it was unclear if the bat made contact with the nurse. The report states that the bat was captured by the hospital, but it was not tested for rabies. The rabies vaccines disrupted the nurse’s honeymoon. The bat encounter happened on Sept. 2, 2019, a few days after she was married. She was due to depart on her European trip on Sept. 9, 2019, and had approved vacation leave until Sept. 25, according to the report. The vaccine regimen meant that part of the trip had to be cancelled, and the honeymooners were only able to depart on Sept. 17. The Ontario Nurses’ Association said the cancellation costs amounted to more than $8,000. Read: Doctors on planes While the hospital filed the incident with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the WSIB rejected the nurse’s claim for reimbursement for her disrupted travel plans. It did allow her claim for healthcare benefits, the adjudicator wrote. The Ontario Nurses’ Association also filed for special damages totalling $2,448, monies paid to hire extra managers for the nurse’s new husband’s restaurants. The managers were to cover for the husband during his vacation. The association argued that the hospital breached the Occupational Health and Safety Act and requested that it pay the couple’s costs as well as unspecified damages. The Ottawa Hospital maintained that awarding damages for missed travel was out of the adjudicator’s jurisdiction, because the claim didn’t involve a breach in the collective agreement. Read: Because you won't fit in their suitcase: 7 ways you can help your globe-trotting patients The adjudicator concluded that he had no jurisdiction to award claims that arise from the workplace accident, “including extra costs of the grievor’s honeymoon and mental distress caused by the employer’s actions in relation to the bat incident.” He added that he had no reason to doubt the nurse’s sincerity about the turmoil that resulted from the bat incident. The Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital was built in 1924. The Ottawa Citizen reports that bat encounters at the Civic campus have happened in the past, and hospital security staff have made their own tools for dealing with calls about bats. The tools include a long pole with a net at the end and a special container for holding captured bats. Plans to build a new hospital to replace the aging Civic campus are underway. Read: A broken March Break x 3

Nurse loses bid for compensation after a bat incident in Ottawa hospital ruins her honeymoon

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